Bond of Scars
by Lyndalion16
Summary: Somewhere in Japan during the Feuding Era, in a home on the far outskirts of a small village, a young woman was in great pain...
1. Birth

Somewhere in Japan during the Feuding Era, in a home on the far outskirts of a small village, a young woman was in great pain. The woman gripped the sheets tightly as she heaved heavy breaths in and out through her exhausted body. She was in immense pain, nothing like she had ever experienced before, but she refused to let a single scream of pain escape her. An elder woman dabbed her forehead with a cool cloth and whispered excitedly "It is time now, Milady! Your child is ready to be born!" The old midwife put the cloth down and moved in between the younger woman's legs. "You must push now, Milady." she said "Come on now." The young woman growled and strained out, "If it is a girl, Old Hag, then kill it immediately! Don't even give it a chance to cry!" The midwife shuddered at the younger woman's demand as the mother-to-be squeezed her eyes shut and began to push the child out of her with all of her might, never once crying out as the child emerged from within her.

"Very good, Milady." the midwife muttered "Yes, I can see it now! A little further. One more push ought to do it!" The woman gave on last great shove, nearly letting a scream out, before she collapsed back onto the blankets. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the newborn child cry out for its first time and turned her head.

"Well, Old Woman?" she said "Is it male or female?"

"Just let me clean it off a little, Milady." came the reply "A little more. There we are!"

"Well?" the woman snapped impatiently "If it is a girl, do away with it at once! Drown it in the water basin!"

"Oh, there will be no need of that. It is a boy, Milady." the old woman said as she continued to clean it "A beautiful, healthy boy. Oh, and so strong! He's thrashing about as if my touch burns him!" The new mother sighed, either out of relief or satisfaction.

"Does he show of having any abilities?"

"He is strong, Milady," the midwife answered as she tried to calm the child down "there is no doubt about that, but other than that, he seems to be completely human. I am afraid that the demon traits have almost completely died out." The child's mother scowled.

_Damn _she thought _Well, at least that means he can never be purified, I suppose_. "Will he still be able to wield the sword?"

"Only time will tell, Milady." The old woman shuffled closer to the tired woman and knelt beside her, still hold the quieting baby. "But for now, would you like to hold him, Milady? Or at least look at him?" The mother didn't answer. "Milady? Milady?" She just stayed silent, pretending to be asleep.

_The little bastard probably looks like his father _she thought as she drifted off to sleep. The last sounds she heard were the quiet whimpers her son was making as the old woman tried to soothe him.

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"You really should give the child a name, Milady." the old woman said, some months later "You can't just keep calling him "the boy" or "the child", you know."

"Why not?" the mother snapped "He is only a few months old, he as no use for a name...as of yet. He does not need a name right now."

"But Milady, he will need one eventually! What are his friends to call him?"

"What friends?" the mother interrupted "He has no friends. He needs no friends."

"No friends! But every child should have a friend! Who shall he play with? Who shall he talk with? Why should he not have friends?"

"There is nothing a friend can do for him that I can not provide." the mother snapped "No, he shall have no friends. Followers, perhaps, if he chooses to become a leader, or companions, maybe, if ends up serving a worthy leader (though I doubt that will be the case). No, friends are useless and dangerous. They can be easily be used as a weakness...or turn on you at any second."

"But he will need a male figure in his life! If not a father then at least a peer. I know very well that you can teach him how to fight and defend himself and practically everything else he will need to know, Milady, but in later years, when he almost becomes a man and starts noticing the young ladies, he should have a male friend to discuss..." The old woman jumped in her seat as the younger woman quickly stood up, knocking her chair on the ground, and towered over her, her eyes blazing.

"I will **never **allow **my **son to become attracted to that repulsive sex!" she seethed "No son of mine is going to waste his time with some disgusting, treacherous, back-stabbing **_SLUT_**!" The old woman cowered under the suddenly enraged woman's gaze.

"Mi..Mi..Milady, please! You'll wake the child!" The younger woman snarled, picked up her chair and sat back down, anger still evident on her face.

"The only reason I keep you alive is because I shall need help taking care of the child." she said. She turned her head back towards the still shaken older woman "So, if you value your life at all, I'll expect you to be a good nurse to my boy. Do not fail me."

"Of...of course, Milady." The old woman tried to smile at her. The young mother looked back at the blazing fire, seeming to be satisfied. "But Milady? You really must spend some more time with your child, especially if you and I are to be family he'll ever have."

"I feed him don't I? I see him every single day."

"I mean _real _time. Hold him for a while. Rock him, sing to him. Give him a little more attention now and then." The mother sighed, clearly annoyed.

"Fine. Bring him to me."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I didn't mean _now, _Milady." the nurse laughed "He is asleep right now."

"Then try not to wake him as you retrieve him. Bring him to me." the mother repeated sharply.

"But..."

"_Now_." The nurse sighed as she stood up from her place at the other side of the fire and made her way to the door across the room. The other woman continue to stare at the fire as the nurse returned with a small bundle in her arms.

"Didn't even flinch as I picked him up." the nurse said as she gently handed the sleeping boy to his mother "This boy could possibly sleep even through a thunderstorm."

"Leave us." the mother said as she took her child into her arms. The nurse then bowed her head and left, smiling as she quietly closed the door.

For the first time, the woman actually studied her son. She felt a sharp pain in her heart when she observed that he looked so much like his father. She felt hot tears filling her eyes.

_He looks **exactly** like him_ she thought _He'll probably have his personality, too. S_e felt the tears begin to fall down her face_ Oh, how I loved him! At least until that BITCH came! _Cold hatred filled her heart_. Before she stole him away from me! I should have known that this would happen. I knew that little bitch has her eye on him, but he was him **mine**. Yet that didn't stop her from taking him from me! _She glared down at the sleeping child in her arms _To leave me with only this child and my tears! _She stood up and strode over to the door and barred it before making her way back over towards the fire. She grabbed a piece of heated wood and gripped it tightly, ignoring the burning pain.

"Well, if I must suffer," she whispered to the child "then you must suffer with me." She then pressed the hot wood to the boy's cheek. The child immediately woke up as he felt the heated object burn his face and let out a shrill cry. He thrashed around, trying to get away from the source of pain, but his mother just held him even tighter. She knew that he wouldn't die from the pain or shock, because he even if he showed no signs of it, he _did _have demon blood in him.

"MILADY, WHAT'S HAPPENING? MILADY!" The poor boy's mother heard the nurse banging on the door, but she took no heed of it. She removed the extremely hot wood from her son's face.

"That bitch is the reason that this is being done to you." she said as she held the wood the his other cheek "Blame her for this." She removed the wood from his face again, his terrible cries and the nurse's shouting and banging pounding in her ears. She saw the new burns on her sons face, which she knew would become scars. "That's right." she whispered "Cry. Cry, and let these scars be your permanent tears. A constant reminder of your fathers betrayal." She clutched the child to her chest tightly, nearly muffling out his cries. "You will be one of the strongest men in Japan one day," she whispered "and I will be the only woman you ever love (you shall love me as a son should love his mother). No other woman shall have you."

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(NOTE): Okay, this is my _second_ Inuyasha fic (the first one was only a one-shot), and just so you know, 1. I'm still not 100 familiar with Inuyasha (I don't have cable so a friend records it for me), 2. I've never received flames before so please be gentle with me if you don't like this (but constructive criticism is more than welcome :)), and 3. I _do_ have another fanfic (man, I really need to update that!) and school, so I definitely won't be able to post every day, week, or maybe even month. But, tell me what you think and if you're even slightly interested!

BTW: If your slightly confused of what's happening or who this is about, I'll make it clearer in the other chapters. However, if you know who these people are, please keep it to yourselves for now. I have a friend who is dying to know who this is about, but I'm not telling her :P One more thing, I'm sorry if the familiar characters are OOC, but it would be imperative to the story. Um...yeah, I think that's about it! Tell me what you think!

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	2. Meeting Mother

(NOTE): Hey! I know I haven't updated in a LONG time, but I'm not able to get on the computer as much as I'd like any more cuz of school (tear). Well, here's another chapter anyway. You may or may not figure out who this is in this chapter, but you will in the next one! Well, anyway...

Oh yeah! And I don't own Inuyasha.

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"Child?" The nurse softly knocked on the door and slightly opened it. She smiled when she saw the small boy laughed in delight as he watched the tiny tops spin quickly across the floor. She had bought many tops of different colors and sizes for him for his birthday and they apparently were now his favorite toys. Every day she would watch him play with them for hours as she did her chores, amazing at how he hardly ever tired from watching the tops crash into each other_. Of course, it's probably because the poor child has nothing better to do _the nurse thought _If only his mother would...Oh, of course! His mother! She sent me to fetch him! _"Child?" she repeated. The boy looked up and smiled at her. 

"Hey Nanny! What's up?" he said. The nurse could always feel her heart melt when he would look up at her with innocent eyes and speak to her.

"Your mother wishes to see you." she said. The boys eyes lit up.

"Mama? Mama wants to see me? Really?" he immediately stood and rushed towards a mirror on the wall of his room, quickly looking himself over. "Do I look okay?" he asked her. The nurse nodded.

"Yes, Child, you look very handsome." The boy beamed, but the smile quickly vanished from his face as his eyes caught the scars on his face. They weren't really very big, but they were definitely noticeable, and the boy didn't like them one bit.

"Except for these dumb marks." he said "Nanny, how did I get them? Was I born with them?"

"My, my!" the nurse laughed, feeling uncomfortable. She really didn't want to get into that subject "You certainly do care a great deal about your looks don't you?" The boy gave her a confused look.

"Aren't I supposed to? You always try to make sure I look good, don't you?"

"Well, I just mean that most boys your age don't usually care."

"They don't? Why not?" The nurse shrugged.

"I suppose you're just more mature than them." The boy smiled.

"Maybe. And besides, Mama's worth it!" he walked over to her and grasped her hand "Lets go!" The nurse laughed at the boy's excitement.

"Now, Child, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh yeah!" The boy quickly gathered his tops and placed them in some drawers before he took the old woman's hand again. "Okay! Done!" The nurse giggled again and led the boy down the hall. As they walked, bits and pieces of the last few years went rushing through her head. In all those years, the boy hardly ever got to see his mother, so the nurse had practically raised him by herself. He was a well-behaved and adorable boy of eight who was, in the nurse's view, different from most boys his age. He actually cared about at least looking presentable and he would always love taking walks through the forrest with his nurse. Most boys his age would be more interested in splashing in the mud or finding ways to get on his nurse's last nerve. _It's probably because he's never met anyone else before _the nurse thought. He would always act happy or at least satisfied, but the nurse could tell that for some reason, he desperately wanted to see his mother more often. He would only see her when she would come out of her room (which was rare), and if she ever saw him, she would hardly even notice he was there. To the boy, his mother was more like a rare mythical creature that was hard to find, but now that she actually wanted to see him...She could feel his small hand trembling with excitement as they approached the door to her room. The nurse was a bit worried to tell the truth. This was the very room where his mother (who had not even bothered to name the child yet) had given him his scars. But for years she had tried to convince her to see the boy, and now that she finally had agreed to see him, the nurse didn't want to push it too far. So, taking a deep breath, she knocked softly on the door.

"Milady?" she called "I've brought the child to see you." Silence followed for a while. "Milady?"

"Send him in." finally came the answer. The nurse felt the boy's small hand tighten as she nudged the door open. She hid a nervous gasp as she saw the boy's mother standing near the hearth, exactly as she had when the boy recieved the scars. Trying to ignore her nervousness, the nurse was about to say something when her mistress broke in."Leave us." she said, still not turning around. Although she knew the other woman couldn't see her, the nurse bowed to her mistress.

"Yes, Milady. Should I wait just outside so I can take the boy back to his room?"

"No." she said "I want you to return to your other chores until I call for you." The nurse felt a feeling of dread come over her. Yes, she wanted the boy to spend time with his mother, but she wanted to be close by in case his mother tried to...hurt him again.

"B-But, Milady, I think it would be better if I..."

"I did not ask for your opinions, Old Woman, I gave you a command." the younger woman said "Obey me." The nurse bit her bottom lip, but said nothing more, knowing she would just be fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. She knew better than to get on her mistress's bad side, and she didn't want for any violence to be displayed in front of the child. She glanced down at the boy, who had not taken his eyes away from his mother, and gently squeezed his hand. She then let go and slowly turned toward the door and softly closed it as she heard the boy call back "See you later, Nanny!" The nurse smiled as she closed the door all the way. _Maybe things will be alright after all _she thought as she made her way towards the kitchens.

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The young mother cringed slightly as she heard her son, _her _son, yell a good-bye to the nurse. _It's clear that he definitely cares for her _she thought bitterly. She spat in the blazing fire and turned to look at her son. It was the first time she had actually gotten a very good look at her young eight-year-old. Even she had to admit that he was just as cute as the nurse had said, except for the two, distinct scars on his cheeks. She resisted a sneer as she looked into his innocent, smiling face_. Even though he's permanently scarred, he still finds a reason to smile. Even though his father was stolen by a treacherous bitch, he refuses to hate_. She turned sharply back to the fire, the thoughts of when she had first burned his young face creeping in her mind.

"Is she taking care of you, Boy?" she asked him.

"Yes, Mama." she heard him answer, sweetly "Nanny takes very good care of me." She sneered as she heard the pure innocence and sincerity in his voice.

"And you love her?"

"Yes, Mama. I love her very much." She tightly clenched her fists, her nails nearly cutting into her skin. _How dare he! _

The boy couldn't take his eyes off of his mother. Although he could only see the back of her, he thought she looked beautiful.She was wearing a strange short kimono that reached to about mid-thigh, with long sleeves and was a light green color except for a large patch of dark green covering the right shoulder and the sash. _It's so different from Nanny's plain, white kimono _the boy thought. She had her long hair up in a thick pony tail and he had noticed when she had turned to look at him that her lips were painted a rich mahogany color and her light brown eyes were rimmed in black.

He noticed his mother tighten up and he thought that he had upset her. He slowly walked up to her and wrapped his short arms around her leg and rested his head on her hip. "But not as much as I love you , Mama." he smiled up at her.

As soon as he said that,the boy's mother felt unusually possesive of him. At least he loved _her_, but that nurse...Without taking her eyes off the burning flames, she knelt down and embraced her son.

The boy felt a rush of happiness fill his heart as his mother held him. Never had she shown him such affection before. Not even a pat on the head. And here she was, _hugging_ him! He closed his eyes and held her back tightly, finally feeling acceptance from his mother.

"My boy" she said softly "are you aware of how you recieved those scars on your face?" The boy's eyes shot open. He had wondered that for as long as he could remember. He told his mother so. His mother stayed silent for a moment before saying, "They're burns, you know. You recieved them here, in this very room...by the nurse." The boy felt a sudden chill consume his body and his breath stopped.

"N...Nanny?" he said "Nanny gave me these scars? But...why?"

"Jealousy. The nurse was jealous of me, so she took it out on you. She was never able to have children, so she dedicated her life to taking care of other people's children. She became fed up with it, though, after she helped me to deliver you and she became jealous. So, a few days after you were born, she burned your face, in the hopes of killing you. I was able to stop her just in time, though." the boy felt fingers running through his hair. As she brought his hand up to his head, he saw some of the skin on her hand was covered in the same kind of scars that were on his cheeks. "I couldn't let her kill my little boy, so I grabbe the wood she was using to harm you. That is how I recieved these scars of my own. I swore to her that if she tried to ever hurt you again, I would kill her. She became a better nurse after that, but who knows what she could try to do next." The boy didn't know what to think. He was scared and very confused. How could his kind, caring nurse be the terrible person who had given him his deeply hated scars. Although his mother had explain the reason, he didn't understand at all. He buried his face in the fabric of his mother's kimono as tears came from his eyes.

If he had been looking at his mother's face, he would has seen the cruel smirk forming on his lips.

"Now, now." she said, pulling him from her and looking into his tear-filled eyes "Don't cry. You mustn't ever cry over that woman. Or any woman, for that matter. They are all like that. Filthy, worthless backstabbers. And you must hate them. Hate them and resent them. Love no other woman but me, the only one you can trust. Will you do this?" The boy didn't know how to answer. Even though the nurse was apparently the one who had burned him, he still couldn't feel any hatred towards her. He couldn't even bring himself to believe his nurse really was the one who had burned him. But, his mother had told him so, and she wouldn't lie to him, would she. _No_ he thought decidedly _Mama wouldn't lie. Even if I don't really hate Nanny, I can pretend like I do. For Mama._

"I promise, Mama." he said, hugging her again "I promise that I will never be nice to Nanny again. I don't love her any more. Only you Mama."

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(NOTE): It's not very much, but it'll get longer soon. Promise! Just tell me what you think !(And please remember, if you think you know who this is, please keep it to yourselves. Thanx!) 


	3. Receiving an Heirloom

(NOTE): Hey! Yeah it's me, I'm not dead :), just really busy. Anyway, in this chapter you get to find out who this is about! I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to my friend dontmesswithYami!

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_Whoosh! _

_Smack!_

The young ten-year-old panted as he removed the now split log from the stump and added it to the growing pile next to him. He straightened up and wiped the hot sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, trying to slow down his breathing. After a few more gasping breathes, he quickly placed another log on the stump, swung the axe up, and in one swift motion, split the log in two. His nurse watched from inside the house as the young boy fervently chopped one piece of wood after another. _Hard at work as usual I see _she thought sorrowfully _His mother works him too hard. She's been sending him to do this and that since she let him out of that room two years ago. _This was true. For two years his mother would treat him almost like a servant, sending him to do one thing after another. Yet it would be unfair to say the boy was completely overworked. He still had time to eat, sleep, and play during certain times of the day and the nurse could still give him his usual lessons for math and history and such , but he still worked more than most children his age did. He was also very determined in his chores. The nurse supposed it was because the boy wanted to please his mother. For eight years of his life she had practically neglected him, leaving it up to the nurse to take care of him, but now she saw him more often, even if it was just to tell him to do another chore. But the nurse was happy to see that the boy would spend sometime in his mother's room every night, until he would come out when it was time for the nurse to put him to bed. Or was she?

The nurse had also noticed some drastic and unusual changes in the still nameless boy's attitude toward her since the little 'chats' with his mother. He didn't act anymore like the sweet innocent boy she had grown to love; now he would either act nasty around her or just ignore her completely. Every time she would enter a room, he would shoot her a harsh glance and mutter something under his breath. When she would wake him up in the mornings or give him any of his meals, he would no longer give her the cheerful, welcoming and grateful smiles that would warm her heart; he would just 'humph' at her, yet still did as he was told. He also seemed to ignore her while she gave him his usual lessons. He didn't even call her 'Nanny' anymore, in fact he would hardly call her at all. Yet in the first few months since he started acting like this, even though he would pretend like he didn't care about her or his cruel actions, she could always see the pain and sadness and regret in his eyes whenever he gave he another hard look or called her another mean name. It broke the nurse's heart to see him act this way. Many times she had asked his mother why he was behaving like this, but never did she give a direct answer.

_Lady Shizuka, what did you say to him? What are you telling him? _She felt a tear softly fall down her cheek.

"Akane." The nurse quickly wiped the tear away and turned and bowed to her mistress. "You were staring at my son again."

"Forgive me, Milady," the nurse said, still bowing "but I am concerned about him." She straightened up and looked at the boy's mother, "Please, Milady, I beg you, tell me why the boy is acting so cold towards me." The mother stared at the nurse for a while, then back at her son, still chopping the wood, and back towards the nurse again.

"I suppose he just no longer likes you." she said coldly before turning away. _As it should be _she smirked.

The nurse looked out of the window again. She held her breath as the boy turned around and looked at her. At first she thought he was going to smile at her, she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. But, alas, he merely shot her a dirty glare and continued with his chore. That was it. The nurse could take it no longer.

"Please, Milady!" the nurse fell to her knees in desperation "I can no longer stand it! I must know why! Why does he pretend to hate me so?" The nurse's mistress narrowed her eyes and looked back towards the nurse, whose face was buried in her hands.

"Pretend?" she questioned, "What do you mean by 'pretend'?" The nurse lifted her head, revealing a miserable, tear-stained face.

"Milady, I can see in his eyes that it hurts him to act this way. But if it ails him, why must he continue this behavior? Forgive me Milady, I do not mean to accuse you of anything, but, he has been like this to mean ever since...ever since your talk with him two years ago." The nurse could swear she saw the younger woman's eyes flash red for the briefest second.

"You truly believe he is only pretending?" her mistress asked slowly. The nurse shivered at the hidden danger she sensed in her voice.

"I...I believe so, Milady." The boy's mother stared at the nurse for a long while. The old woman felt as if she was shrinking under her mistress's frozen glare. Due to her demonic blood, even if it had been mixed with a great deal of human blood, she looked extremely terrifying when she was even the slightest bit annoyed.

"Listen well, Old Hag," she said, not bothering to hide the dangerous tone "my son is **not **'pretending' anything. Every evening, when he comes into my room, he tells me of how much he despises you." The nurses eyes widened.

"He...he really says that?"

"He blames you as the reason he hasn't seen me for most of his life. He believes you want to keep him all to yourself."

"BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE!" The nurse flung herself at her mistress's feet and held onto her ankles. "You tell him it is not true, Milady, don't you?" she sobbed "You tell him that I only wish the best for him?"

"Silence, Akane!" she hissed as she kicked the older woman away "Do not shout! Of course I tell him it's not true!"

"Then why!" tears were falling freely from the nurse's face by now "Why does he still bear such hatred for me? I can not stand it any longer! I wish to see him smile again! I want to see his face light up like it used to! Please Milady, tell me, why?"

"Oh for the gods' sake, snap out of it Woman! Oh, you have always been so emotional! Does it really matter why? I thought you would be happy for him. For the both of us. He is spending more time with me now, isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that what you have pestered me about for all these years, Old Hag Akane?" The nurse, Akane, sniffled and nodded.

"Yes, Milady, but I didn't want him to develop the idea that I had been keeping you from him."

"If he is happy then that is all that matters, correct?"

"But _is _he happy, Milady Shizuka?" Akane would only call her mistress by her name when she was absolutely set on a truthful answer from her. "Truly?" She wiped her nose on her sleeve "Because, if he is,...then...I suppose I can live with his cruelty. But I shall now be determined to make him believe that I do not wish him to see you."

"You will leave him as he is, Old Woman." Akane's head shot up at her mistress, Shizuka.

"But, Milady...!"

"He would not believe you if you told him. He will heed my words better, though. I shall do my best to convince him, but I promise nothing." Akane's wet eyes looked up at Shizuka hopefully.

"Honestly? Oh...Oh thank you Milady!"

Shizuka looked out of the window again at her son, who was just about finished with the wood.

"I have decided to name him, you know." she said, not taking her eyes off the child.

"Really Milady?" Akane rose herself onto her feet "Oh that is wonderful! What have you decided to call him?" Shizuka answer. She waited until the boy had just finished chopping the last block of wood and sat on the stump to catch his breath.

"CHILD!" she called. Akane always winced when she heard Shizuka shout. The boy, however, looked up attentively and turned his head towards the window to look at his mother. "Come meet me in my room for a moment!" Without another word, she turned around and walked back down the corridor.

The nurse watched her leave, then turned to look outside. The boy had left the stump and was on his way inside. Akane quickly turned into another room before the boy rushed past her. She didn't want to see another scowl from him. No. She would wait a while before she looked at his face again, and hopefully see the smile she missed so much.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Although the boy was exhausted from chopping the wood and wanted to sit down to rest for a while, he immediately headed into the house when his mother called for him. He knew it wasn't to tell him about another chore, because she could have just told him to do it while he was still outside,and he didn't think it was to praise him, because his mother had told him _"You can't always expect praise for everything you do"_. But he was still eager to hear what she wanted to say. Perhaps it was to give him something or maybe she finally wanted to take him into town! He had asked her many times if she would take him into town, but she would say to him _"You must be patient, my child. Remember to be patient". _Unfortunately, patience was one lesson he had trouble learning. The boy's mother had told him many 'lessons' over the past two years, each one he would try his best to remember. The one she would put the most emphasis on, though, was the one she claimed as the most important: _Always follow, respect, and obey your leader. _

That is who his mother was. His leader. His teacher. The only woman who truely mattered...or at least that is what he wanted to be believe. As he hurried down the corridor, he saw a bit of the nurse retreating form dash into another room. He was thankful for that. Being mean to her had become more of a habit than another difficult chore, but he still had a small feeling of regret deep in the pit of his gut. _This is for Mama _he kept telling himself.

He slowed his pace as he reached his mother's room. He felt light-headed after spending the morning doing chores, mostly outdoors, and then running all the way to his mother's room. He leaned against the door, letting out heavy, labored pants. He desperately wanted to rest for a while, but his mother's voice called him again from behind the door. He sighed, opened the door, and peered into the room.

"Mama?" he said. His mother was kneeling on the ground next to a long chest in the corner. When she saw him come in, she motioned for him to come forward by patting the ground next to her. He inched his way towards her curiously. Now he was very excited! He had wondered what was in that chest, but his mother would never tell him. Was he going to find out now?

He sat down on the ground next to his mother. She gently took his face in one hand and wiped of his forehead with her sleeve. She then picked up one of the two cups he just noticed were lying next to her. There was also a rag set on top of one of the cups.

"Drink." she said, handing him one. It was filled with water. The boy took the cup from his mother, giving her a grateful smile, and began to drink down the greatly needed refreshment in large gulps. However, his mother put her hand on the cup, signaling him to stop. "Sip it." she told him "You'll choke if you gulp it down like that." He nodded and did as she said. He was noisy, but his mother didn't say anything. When he finished and brought from him lips, she simply said, "Try being more quiet next time," before she turned to the chest and opened it. The boy clenched the cup and felt butterflies flutter in his stomach as she lifted a long, heavy looking object wrapped and tied in purple-grayish cloth out of the chest. She placed it on the ground in front of her, and he leaned over to see as she carefully untied it. "This has been in our family for many generations." she said "It belonged to your great-great grandfather, Kanaye. A powerful snake demon." The young boy gasped. _Did she just say **snake** **demon**? _

"Mama? Does...that mean we are demons?"

"It hardly shows in you, and I myself have only a few physical traits, but yes, a little. Although it is hidden so much in you, I doubt you have to worry about holy barriers or even ever being purified. I just hope it shows enough so that one day, you shall wield this." The boy held his breath as his mother pulled back the last piece of cloth that was covering the strange object.

It was a sword.

It was the largest one the young boy had ever seen. He had seen other swords before, his mother had quite a collection, but he somehow knew that this one was special. Although it was still covered with a purple sheath, he could tell instead of completely straight, it was slightly curved. The handle, or hilt, was a simple flat bar with tough overlapping straps above a white nub. Two thin, gold bars came out and down from the hilt, but only one connected to it right above the nub, and right above the hilt, a green cloth with gold lining was wrapped around the very beginning of the blade.

His mother slid the amazing sword out from its sheath, so he could see the blade. He was right about it being curved, but he was a little disappointed to that the blade was a little rusty and didn't look very sharp. He watched his mother run her hand over the blade and gaze at it, taking in its granduer as if it was spotless. He saw her smile, giving him a good look at her teeth. For the first time, he noticed how much she did look a tiny bit like a demon.

The pupils of her eyes were nearly cat-like slits and her teeth were sharper than his or his nurse's. Of course, he wasn't completely sure since the only demons he had ever seen were drawn in some of the scrolls the nurse had made him read during his lessons.

The boy heard his mother whisper something and he cocked his head the side.

"What, Mama?" She didn't answer him. She placed the blade on the ground and held the handle out to him. Trembling, he took it from her. He kept the blade on the ground, because it felt every bit as heavy as it looked.

"Clean it." his mother said. She place the other cup, which held a familiar, greasy looking substance in it, and the rag in front of him. He took the rag and scooped up a generous amout of the grease and ran it over the sword . He knew how to clean swords, he had cleaned all the other swords his mother had.

"You should keep your weapons and yourself as clean as possible as often as you can." he said to her, repeating one of her 'lessons.' His mother nodded, and then did something that shocked him. She lent down and kissed the top of his head. His hand went still at once as she laid her cheek in his thick, black hair, which now fell to his shoulders.

"You learn very well, my son," she said softly "and it's about time that you have a name." She laid her hand over his, which was still holding the hilt. "The sword itself is called Jakotsutou. I've decided you shall be named after it. So, your name, from now on, shall be Jakotsu."

The young boy looked at his reflection in the blade. He stared at the comely, youthful face, flawed only by the two, straight scars under each of his bright black eyes.

"Jakotsu?" he whispered "I guess it fits."

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(NOTE): I know, I know, it's still pretty short, but I promise it will get longer in the later chapters. Right now it's at the 'revealing/get to know the main characters' stage. At least you know who this is about now! (I hope no one is too disappointed if it wasn't who they expected or wanted!) 


	4. First Battle

(NOTE): Thanx to everyone who has stuck with me this far! I know I haven't updated very often, but the program where I make my documents from has to be updated. Once I get that done, hopefully the updates will be more frequent :). So, I have a nice _long_ chapter to make up for my lack of updates. Enjoy! (Oh by the way...it _might_ get a little graphic of some violence here, so just to warn you. I don't really know, I'm still kinda new to the whole "too graphic" deal, it's probably nothing to worry about, so this is just to be safe. If you don't want to read it I'll put this marker 9999999 and you don't have to read past this point. K? ;))

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Only two months after receiving his name, the boy was already used to responding to the name "Jakotsu", since his nurse was always more than ready to use it as often as she could. She was completely enthralled with the boy finally being called something other than "Boy" or "Child". 

"I was afraid that that was what your mother intended to permanently call you!" she had exclaimed, smiling. He had just turned up his nose at her and looked away. He no longer thought about his mother's words when he acted like this toward his nurse nor did he experience anymore feelings of guilt. Being mean to her was more of a habit than an obligation by now.

A month or two passed, and the child, Jakotsu, would soon be reaching his eleventh year.

When his birthday came, his nurse brought him her usual gift of a new top. It was a beautiful, dark green color with a thin red line running around it. Nanny tried to convince herself that she would probably receive no thanks from Jakotsu, but it didn't matter. As least she could still watch him play with it and steal a glance at the smiles she missed so much. But when she had handed it to him with a large, warm smile, he had just looked at it with distaste and said "Don't you think I'm a little too old to be playing with _tops_?"

At that moment, when he had said those very words, Akane the Nurse's heart had been smashed into pieces. There was no thank you, as she had expected, but he didn't even want her gift. For the past couple of years, since he had been acted so nasty to her, those tops had been the link she felt had still connected her to her dear boy. To watch him play with those tops had been her reminder of his sweet smiles and kind words, but now even that was gone.

Her 'Child' was gone. This was Shizuka's 'Jakotsu'.

The nurse couldn't stand it anymore. She dropped the beautiful top on the ground and rushed to her room. She collasped on her mat and wept, not caring who heard her or what her mistress would say if. She wanted to cry one final time over her lost little boy.

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Jakotsu felt a tug at his heart as he had watched his nurse drop the top at his feet and rush away, tears filling her eyes. He had not had this feeling for years. The feeling of guilt. He looked down at the top, his dark bangs falling into his eyes. It _was _a very pretty top. But he was eleven now. He was no longer a child and the nurse had to understand that.

_But I guess that I should say good-bye _Jakotsu thought.

So he picked up the top and it's string and walked to his nurse's, Akane's, bedroom. He could hear her sobs even before he reached the door. He reached out a fist to the threashold and knocked. The sobs quieted down a little and he gingerly stepped into the room, tying the piece of string around the tip of the small toy. He saw his nur...Akane lift her head from the mat and stare at him with absolute misery. Her eyes were already red from crying, so was her face. He knew that this must be an enormous strain on her old body.

With one familiar, swift movement, Jakotsu released the top and watched as it ran across the floor and stopped and twirled right in front of Akane. Akane stared at the spinning top for second before she lifted her eyes to Jakotsu's face. They just stared at each other for a long moment, the only sound was the soft _rrr rrr _from the swirling top. As she looked at him, his eyes seemed to say, _I'm sorry, Nanny, but I have to grow up now. _

He then gave her a small smile and a little wink and turned to the door and left, and Akane knew that it was the last smile she would ever receive from her boy.

"Thank you, Child." she whispered as the top slowed down and rattled to the ground.

_Thank you_

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As Jakotsu made his way from Akane's room, he heard his mother call him just down the hallway. He lifted his eyes from the ground and saw his mother walked toward him. She was dressed in the usual white and green kimono and her hair seemed to be up in the pony tail, but there was something different about her appearance. As she got closer, Jakotsu saw that her lips were painted red instead of their usual mahogany and her hair was actually in more of a bun. She was also carring something wrapped in purple and her right forearm arm was covered with an arm-guard that looked like it was made out of the same material...What was it?...Snakeskin! The object she was carrying was Jakotsutou!

_That's wierd _he thought _Why is Mama dressed up like that and why does she have Jakotsutou?_

She eventually stopped in front of him and asked "Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are Ma...I mean Mother." he remembered that she had told him to call her that now since he was older "But, ready for what?"

"I'm taking you into the village today." she said "It is time that I teach you how to use Jakotsutou and I need to take it into the village to get it sharpened. And while we're there, perhaps you could pick out a little treat for yourself as well." Jakotsu became excited. He had never been to the village before! Hell, he had never even seen another human besides Akane and his mother.

"The village? We're actually going to the village? Oh I can't wait! When are we leaving?"

"Now." his mother said, turning around and making her way down the hall. "AKANE!" she called back "I'm taking Jakotsu to the village! Have supper ready by the time we return!"

"Yes Milady!" came the reply. Shizuka slung the mighty sword onto her back.

"Come Jakotsu."

The boy nodded and excitedly followed his mother.

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It took about half an hour to get to the village, but Jakotsu didn't mind one bit. As he walked beside his mother, he couldn't help thinking about what he would see when he got there. Would there be a lot of people? Were there many children? What should he say to everyone? How would they react to them? What would they say about his scars? He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice the sight of a path and a few huts come into view. When he did notice, though, he could feel his pulse beat faster, mostly from excitement but also from nervousness.

"Listen well, Jakotsu." he heard his mother say. He turned his head up to look at her. "You shall do exactly what I tell you and you will not talk to anyone, especially the _females_." she spat the word out like it had a bitter taste " You understand me?"

"Yes Mother." Jakotsu said, a little discouraged and confused. He had hoped that he could maybe talk with some of the other kids his age, maybe even play _kemari _with them. Now he wouldn't be able to get that chance. _Why doesn't Ma..Mother want me to talk to anyone? Maybe it's cuz of my scars. _He touched his hand to one of his cheeks _Maybe she doesn't want people asking about them. Yes, that must be it._

"Shizuka!" a voice said. Jakotsu looked up and saw that they were now inside the village. There were many people who looked as if they stopped what they were doing just to stare at them. A woman with long black hair and a plain faded red kimono with a dirtied apron stood in front of them. She looked older than his mother but younger than Akane, and she also was staring at them with shock.

_Shizuka? Does she mean mother? _Jakotsu felt a little stupid that he didn't even know his own mother's name. He just stared at the woman as she continued.

"I didn't think we would ever see you again! The last we heard of you, you were pregnant and living in your father's old home! Oh but that _was_ a few years ago." The woman caught sight of Jakotsu and smiled. "Is this the child you were pregnant with?" She bent down a little to get a better look at him "Oh, isn't he handsome! He looks so much like his father at that..."

"Hello to you as well, Satsu," his mother inturrupted through her teeth, her eyes flashing a tiny bit " but I am not here to talk. I'm merely here to get my sword sharpened. Now if you all will excuse us!" She raised her voice so that everyone heard and they continued with there businesses at once. "Pardon me." Shizuka grabbed her sons hand and tried to brush past the other woman, but she caught her other arm and whispered to her.

"But, Shizuka, please tell me, what happened to his face? Why are there scars under his eyes?"

"That's none of your business, Satsu!" Shizuka hissed as she jerked her arm away "My life and my son are absolutely none of your concern. Just leave us alone!" Pulling Jakotsu along with her she stalked quickly away from the abashed woman.

"Mother?" Jakotsu said "Your...kinda hurting my arm." His mother didn't respond until she was sure she was away from Satsu. By then she had reached the village centre, which seemed to have even more people because there were many outdoor shops selling all kinds of things. She tugged her son into a secluded area and finally let him go.

"I'm going to the blacksmith's now, Jakotsu." she said to him "You say here and gaze around, see if there's anything you'd like." She pulled out a small bag from her sash that jingled as she handed it to him. "This should be enough. You remember your lessons about currency, don't you?" Jakotsu nodded. "Then here, this should be enough to buy something small. And remember, do not talk to anyone."

"Yes Mother." Jakotsu said. His mother nodded and headed off in another direction. Jakotsu tied the small pouch to his thin belt and stepped out and looked around at the village shops. As soon as he had stepped into the light, people began to stare at him again though they pretened to carry on with what they were doing. Jakotsu tried not to notice them as he went from stall to stall to see what they were selling. They were selling all kinds of things: fabrics, jewelry, wood carvings, clay pots, sweets, shoes, make-up, fans, and things Jakotsu had never even heard of.

He tried not to pay any heed to the stall that was selling toys, but he couldn't help stealing a glance. Most of the toys were made of wood, including the tops, which was the first thing that caught his eyes and made him quickly turn his head. He came up to a stall that was selling peculiar objects of different shaps and sizes. Some were round with a flat sickt strung with strins sticking out from the top. Others were what looked to be long sticks with holes in it. Jakotsu carefull picked one of these up and examined it.

"Does that flute interest you, Young Man?" an old voice said. Jakotsu looked up to see an old man from behind the stall smiling kindly at him.

"Floot?" Jakotsu asked, completely forgetting his mother's directions of not talking to anyone "What's a floot?"

"I'll show you." the man took up a flute from behind the stall and placed it sideways near his mouth. As he blew into it, Jakotsu heard a sweet high sound and was amazed as the pitch changed as the man covered and uncovered the small holes with his fingers.

"Music." Jakotsu whispered, as the sound rose and fell in a smooth rhythm. He had never heard music before. He stood there listening to the lovely and decided he somwhat liked it. The man abruptly stopped playing and smiled back to Jakotsu.

"Like it?" he asked. Jakotsu nodded. "Well, then would you like to buy it?" _Yes _Jakotsu would've liked to say. _Except I don't know how to play_. Jakotsu placed the 'floot' back on the table and shrugged.

"I can't. Sorry." The man looked a little put out, but only nodded and turned another customer. Jakotsu turned and had to take a tiny step back for there was a young girl standing right in front of him. She looked about a couple years younger than him, probably around nine or ten, though Jakotsu was considerably taller than her. (He was more than likely just taller than most for his age). Her hair was tied up in a pony tail. Her hands were folded behind her back and her eyes glittered with friendliness.

"Hi!" she said "You're new around here, huh? My name's Etsuko. What's yours."

_Don't respond _Jakotsu tried to tell himself _I'm already going to be in trouble_ with _Mother for talking to the man at the stall, and if I talk to a **girl**..._

"Jakotsu." he heard himself say. _Dammit!_

"That's a funny name." the girl said "But then again you look kinda funny. What are those marks under your eyes? Oh nevermind. Anyway, my Mama told me to show you around, so here I am!"

"Who's your mother?"

"Her name is Satsu. She said she saw you as you came in."

_Oh her._

"So, can I show you around now?" Jakotsu knew that his answer should be 'no', but he _could _use a little help. The village was very unfamiliar to him, and it wouldn't hurt if he could get a little help, even if it was from a girl.

"Sure." he said.

"Great!" Etsuko grabbed his hand and dragged him to another stall. "This one is my favorite." she said. It was a stall that was selling small metal figures. Some were small figurines of animals and some were pieces of jewelry. A lot them were still their usual gray, but there were a few colored ones as well.

"Hello, Estuko." the woman who was selling them said to the young girl. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Jakotsu." she answered. "I'm showing him around! Do you have anything interesting today, Miss Keiko?"

"Nothing new, I'm afraid." she said.

"Oh well. Have you sold my pin yet?"

"Your pin?" Jakotsu asked.

"Yes, my husband makes these figures, you see." Keiko said "One day Etsuko came to visit us and she helped him make a hair pin."

"Has it been sold yet?" Etsuko repeated hopefully. Keiko shook her head, which made the young girl look discouraged. "But only because...I..am...waiting for someone very special to come and buy it. And no one special enough has come by yet." This made Etsuko smile.

"Wanna see it?" Etsuko asked Jakotsu. He nodded, genuinely curious. Keiko reached over to an end of the table and picked up a short, thick hair pin. The tip of it was blue and it had the outline of butterflies on it. He had to admit it was cute and nodded his approval.

"How much?" he asked. Etsuko's eyes widened.

"What?"

"How much is it?" He took out his small money bag.

"You actually want to buy it?"

"Sure. My mother might like it. But, do you think I'm special enough?"

"Oh yes! Of course I do!" she said enthusiastically.

"Then just name your price already!" he laughed.

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Shizuka arrived at the centre again a few hours later. It didn't take long for the blacksmith to sharpen her sword, it was still pretty sharp to begin with. She expected to find Jakotsu waiting for her, but he hadn't returned to where she had left him_. Hasn't he found something yet? _She thought as she walked and looked around.

When she finally found him, she stopped dead in her tracks. There was her son in front of the sweets stand, laughing and talking with a **girl.** Shizuka felt burning anger and hatred searing inside her body.

Her son, _**her **son, _was with a **_female._**

Images of his father, her lover, and that**_ bitch _**kept flashing up before her eyesas she watched her son talk with that girl and she felt _**betrayed!**_ ** _  
_**

The feeling of fury was radiating from her so strongly, that every single person stopped and stared at her. Eventually, Jakotsu and Etsuko felt it, too, and turned to see an enraged Shizuka.

_Uh oh _Jakotsu thought, his smile disappearing. The village became so silent, you could hear the pin that Etsuko had made drop.

"Uh...h-hi, Mother." Jakotsu said, breaking the long, heated silence "T-this is E-Etsuko. She was just showing me around."

"Jakotsu, my son," Shizuka said slowly in a low voice that made Jakotsu gulp "get over here this instant!" Nearly trembling, Jakotsu put down the sweet he had been eating and walked slowly toward his mother. The crowd stared and parted as he walked past them until he reached his mother. She grabbed his arm in such a strong grip that made him wince and pulled him behind her, never once taking her murderous glance off of Etsuko.

"Who the hell told you that you could communicate with my son, Girl?"

"M-my M-Mama, Miss." Etsuko stuttered, truely frightened of this woman "Sh-sh told me to show him around."

"I did." Satsu came up from behind Etsuko. Etsuko immediately ran behind her mother and barely peeked her head out to look. "I thought your son could use a little help, Shizuka, so I sent my daughter to to show around. I'm sorry if you think that is wrong, but this is his first time in the village and I was worried of what might happen to him."

"My son is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, Satsu! You and your pathetic daughter should NOT HAVE INTERFERED!" The next thing Jakotsu knew, he saw a flash of many brillant whait lightes rushing with loud swooshing clatters toward Satsu. There a a lound scream, and Jakotsu saw the mother and child lying in a bloody mess on the ground, dead. Jakotsu and many others looked up at his mother.

The Jakotsutou was unsheathed, covered with blood, and she was holding in the air with one arm. She was standing in a stance that suggested she had just pulled something back, and there was an evil smirk on her face.

"MURDERER!" someone shouted "THERE IS A MUDERER ON THE LOOSE!" After that, all choas ensued. Women started screaming and rushing to their children, men and boys started shouting and running. Shizuka's look then became a crazy smile and she lashed out at the closest people. The sword unbent into multiple blades and slashed at many people at one time...

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Pretty soon bodies started falling.

Blood started flying everywhere.

The screams and cries became louder and more urgent.

And Shizuka laughed as if she was having the time of her life.

Jakotsu just stood there, looking at his mother in horror and in shock. What was she doing! How could she do this! She suddenly grabbed Jakotsu and placed a dagger in his hands.

"Join me!" she said in a crazed whisper "It's just so much fun! Try killing one of the men, the handsome men! That's even more fun!" She dragged him into another crowd that was trying to escape. As they ran, Jakotsu noticed that her hair had fallen out of it's bun and was thrashing wildly against his mother's face. The top of her kimono had aslo come undone, and Jakotsu saw she was wearing a piece of armor that was made of the same purple snake skin that was wrapped around her arm. It was connected over one shoulder be a thick black band. Her breasts were packed tightly into the strange armor and looked as if it would hurt, but Shizuka payed no mind to it. Never in his life had he seen her look so much like a demon.

As she reached a group of people, she chased two into a house and cornered them. The trembling pair consisted of what looked like an old mother and her adult son. He was holding her in his arms and squeezing his eyes shut, waiting for the final blow.

"Look, my son." Shizuka whispered, her eyes wide and filled with blood lust "Look at _him_! Isn't he beautiful?" Jakotsu looked at the young man who was, indeed, extremely handsome. "I'll bet his blood is even more beautiful! Jakotsu look at him! Look at his beauty! No woman could ever compare to it! This is what you should love!" His mother raised her arm up and slashed at the mother and her son. A second later, they were lying in pieces on the ground. Jakotsu watched as his mother licked up a little bit of the blood from the sword and moaned. She then took a little on her finger and held it to her son's lips.

"Taste!" she said. Hesitantly, Jakotsu licked the blood off his mother's finger. "Doesn't it taste wonderful? Let's go find more!" She hoisted him on to her back and ran swiftly outside and toward the blood curlding screams. She again reached the hesterical crowds and let her son off. The dagger was still clutched in his hand.

"Go, my son!" Shizuka shouted as she slaughtered more people. "Go and have your fun!" Jakotsu truely did not want to do it, but his mother was his leader, and he must obey his leader without question. So he looked around and saw a a younger boy looking around in fear. Jakotsu swiftly ran up to him, and closing his eyes, stabbed the dagger into the boy's chest. He pulled the dagger out and heard the boy fall to the ground. His heart was racing and he actually felt...thrilled! He opened his eyes and looked for another person. Soon he was all over the place, stabbing, and slashing, and laughing right along with his mother.

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Jakotsu stared with his mother at the burning flames of his home with no emotion on his face. The image of all those dying people kept flashing through his head. He remembered how his mother had thrust a dagger into his hand and made him watch as she killed a handsome young man. Eventually, he too had joined in the fray and had started killing people left and right with his mother. What had come over him? He had felt such excitement and thrill over killing those people, especially the good-looking men. He had found it even more fun when the men had tried to fight back, and it made him feel strongg that he had overpowered them.

_I guess it must be my demon blood _he thought _Besides, it's not like those people meant anything to me._

After the whole village had been slaughtered, his mother had taken him home and set fire to their home.

"It's time for a new beginning." she had said as she set fire to the roof "One that will not start here."

Jakotsu could hear pained screams coming from the house, and he knew it was Akane. When he heard her screams, something snapped, and he felt guilt wash all over him. Tears filled his eyes as his heart filled with intense pain. He reached into the bag at his blet and took out the pin he had bought from Etsuko.

Shizuka heard her son let out a cry and just barely was able catch him as he made to run to the burning house.

"NO JAKOTSU! LISTEN!" she looked deeply into his tear-filled eyes and continued firmly but gently "Those people in the village were nothing! They meant nothing to us! You had fun, didn't you?" Jakotsu shook his head and tried to wriggle out of his mother's grasp, but she pulled him into a firm embrace. "You're just feeling this way because it is new to you. The feeling of guilt will vanish with time. Just think about the fun you had. Think only of the fun."

Jakotsu eventually relaxed a little bit and hugged his mother back tightly, but his hand stilled gripped the metal hair pin. He concentrated all his mind on the thrill of the kill, the fun he had slaughtering those people, until it consumed his mind as completely as the fire consumed his home, his nurse, his past, and his childhood into oblivian.

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(NOTE): OK...I have never written something THAT intense, I actually feel bad :(. Oh well, it had to be done. Just tell me what you think! (And is his mom psyco or WHAT!)

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	5. Sold

(NOTE): YYYYAAAAYYYYYY! SCHOOL'S OUT! I'm so happy I'm gonna write! (hehe)

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Through his damp bangs, Jakotsu watched as the lightning-like light sliced the banches clean off of the trees and quickly traveled back into the single blade he was holding above his head. He grinned as the branches cluttered to the ground and landed in sloppy heaps. His face and bare chest were covered in sweat, but he payed no mind to it as he swung the large sword at yet another tree and discarded it of it's branches. 

This was what one of the usual morning practices for him with the Jakotsutou would consist of, ever since he had left his birth place four years ago.

After his house had been diminshed to ashes, his mother had wasted no time in finding another place to stay. For a while they had gone from village to village, killing the owners of secluded farms and his family (if he had one) and staying in his house until they were ready to leave. They had hunted and scavenged for food while living like this and his mother had made sure that Jakotsu would keep up with his lessons, especially the fighting lessons.

In the beginning, his mother had only taught him fighting and defensive stances, manuevers, and techniques, in which case he had used the dagger he had made his first kill with. But soon after, his mother had let him use Jakotsutou. It was heavy and difficult to use at first, but he was getting used to it more and more each day and by the time he was fourteen, it felt so natural to him that he would almost feel uncomfortable without it.

It was at this age when his mother had decided to test him and his skill. She had chosen the place where was now their, so-far, permanent home and anyone could amit that for the first time in an actual battle, it was quite a challenge, for it was a castle that had been previousley owned by a daimyo.

The diamyo had many gaurds and soldiers protecting him which had kept Jakotsu and his mother busy for the longest time. He had almost been injured one time if not for his mother, who had been using another sword that she had grabbed from her collection before she had fire to their home. She had quickly decapitated the man who had been sneaking up on him, ready to strike, and had shouted "Watch what you are doing, you fool!" at him before she had turned to another group of gaurds.

If it had been any other two people trying to take on a daimyo's castle, they probably wouldn't have lasted ten minutes. But due to Shizuka's demon blood, she had incredible speed and agility and was able to take on many men at one time while her son slashed at an entire group with Jakotsutou.

At the battle, Jakotsu had to amit he had had a lot of fun and his mother was right, killing the handsome men were even more fun. He felt a strange thrill as he heard the good-looking men cry; his heart would beat faster than a river, his stomach felt as if he had swallowed an entire swarm of insects, and he would feel a strange longing in his body that his mother had described as "lust". His mouth had watered for the taste of their blood and he took care to observe the tiny differences between one man's blood and another as he slashed Jakotsutou around skillfully. One man's might be darker and another's might taste saltier, but Jakotsu would enjoy it all and bask in the sound of pained screams and fierce shouts as he would taunt them with his teasing, flirtatiouscomments.

Eventually, the gaurds had all been destroyed and they had soon moved on to the women and children, namely the maids and concubines and their kids, which really weren't much fun at all. He would wince as he heard their pathetic squeals and plaes for mercy, but his mother seemed to enjoy it. She would look at them with pure loathing in her eyes as she hacked their bodies into bloody pieces, spittingon them as often as she could.

The last person they had killed was the daimyo himself. He was an older man, but he seemed to be in fine shape.

_And quite attractive for an older guy_.

Jakotsu was eager to fight the diamyo as soon as he saw him but his mother had held him back and said "This one is mine." Jakotsu had immediately backed down with a slight pout, and watched as his mother and the daimyo fought. The daimyo was extremely skilled, himself, and he seemed an almost equal match for his warrior mother. However, throughout their sparring, Jakotsu would hear his mother ask, more like demand, strange things. He remembered the first thing she had snapped as they began their duel was "Where the hell is..." someone, he didn't really remember the name, but afterwards he found out through his mother's questioning, she was constantly inquiring about the daimyo's daughter.

_What the hell? _he had thought _Why would Mother be looking for a woman? I thought she hated women!_

The daimyo would stay silent to all of her questions and merely concentrate all of his energy on their battle, which was probably a wise decision. But it was all in vain as his mother became fed up with his silence, and finally, struck him down to the floor, not wasting anymore time in killing him.

That was about two years ago. Everyone in the castle, except for about three male servants whom they had spared, was dead, and the castle belonged to them now. The servants, who now also belonged to them, had helped clean up their new home of the blood and dead bodies and had shown them around the grounds. It was these servants they would send to get provisions and would bow to their every need.

Or at least Shizuka's every need.

Although he was treated a great deal better than the servants, his mother would still make him do his chores and his lessons. He never complained though. After all, his mother was not only his leader, but his friend, although he would never use that term in front of her.

"Friends are useless." she would snap "Only companions with strength are of any true use." But he couldn't help it, he needed a friend, and she was the best he had.

He finally decided he had had enough practice. He was getting hot and tired and he felt like he needed to eat something. He walked over to one pile of branches and chopped off the smaller limbs that held leaves. That done, he gathered a few up and walked back to the back gates of the castle, near the stables. He placed the arms of wood down in the wood pile for the fires, placed Jakotsutou leaning against it, and walked over to a trough, where he splashed the water on his burning face and sighed with relief.

He dried his hands off by running his fingers through his long black hair which reached to a few inches below his shoulderblades. He clasped his hands around the back of his neck and looked down into the the water.

A handsome, tall boy of sixteen stared back at him. Despite staying out in the sun for long periods of time, the smooth skin of his face and well-developed chest were pale peach, so unlike his mother's that was pale light brown. In fact, he looked almost nothing like his mother, except for his nose and his lips, so he decided that his looks must've come from his father.

In his own opinion, Jakotsu was happy with the way he looked, actually more feminine than masculine, especially because he was so thin. The only thing he disliked were the straight, vertical scars under his clear black eyes. He noted that they were so visible because they were a shade darker than the rest of his skin. All his life he remembered hating them, and he still did. He splashed his hand in the water, distorting his reflection of the rest of his features, wiped his wet hand on the leg of the snug, grey knee-length pants his mother had made for him to practice in, and walked over to pick up Jakotsutou.

He looked at the horses as he passed by, but he stopped when he saw a horse he had never seen before. Not only that, but the horse was tied to what looked like a mobile, rectangular platform with a high fence running all the way around it. The wheels of this strange wagon looked old with many notches and riding in it couldn't possible be very comfortable, as it had no seats and there were manacles with chains attached to the fence-like sides. It made Jakotsu shiver

_Who could this belong to? It's not one of the servants' andI know it doesn't belong to Mother. Could it be that Mother has someone else over? But why would she...?_

He hurriedly grabbed his heirloom sword and ran across the castle grounds. He lept onto the nearest platform of one of the many outdoor hallways (NOTE: No idea what they're called), and continued to run until he reached the main room, the one that was the largest, where a daimyo would receive guests (NOTE: That either :P).

As he reached the door, he could hear two voices speaking incoherently. One was clearly his mother's but the other's was unfamiliar, though he could tell it was a male's,even if it was a little high. Jakotsu's own voice was rather light for a boy's and in all honesty sounded more like a girl's, so he could tell a male's voice from a female's voice fairly easily.

_So Mother **does** have company! But who is it? Is he cute?_ Jakotsu decided to find out. So he gently rapped on the door and waited for an answer. The talking in the room stopped and stayed silent until he heard his mother say "Come in."

Jakotsu slowly slid the door open and peered inside. There was his mother talking with a short, well-dressed, extremely thin man with a round face and tiny black eyes. Jakotsu was slightly put out that the man wasn't handsome at all. In fact Jakotsu thought he looked kind of snooty...and he didn't like the way he was looking at him.

"Ah, Jakotsu." Shizuka motioned him to come further in and he did as he was told.

"So, this is him, is it?" the man said. Jakotsu noticed that his voice was actually more nasal than high, very annoying. He saw his mother nod. The man "hmm"ed and suddenly began walking toward him with his hand outstretched. It looked as if he was ready to grab him and Jakotsu reflexively brought up his sword. He smirked as he watched the man flinch back, but the smirk faded as his mother said "Put that down, Jakotsu, and stand still." Though thoroughly confused, her son put the weapon back down and allowed the man the grab his arm.

"He is healthy?" the man asked his mother, who didn't look at all surprised by his actions.

"Perfectly."

The man was so short, or maybe Jakotsu was so tall, that he barely reached up to Jakotsu's nose, and Jakotsu turned his head away in disgust from the sight of his oily, thinning hair that was tied in a tiny knot near the top of his head. He felt the man wrap one hand around his wrist and the other around his upper arm, the one that was not holding Jakotsutou. He then lifted his wrist up and down, bending and straighting his arm at the elbow, flexing and extending the muscles of his upper arm, as if he was feeling his strength .

_What the...?_

The man didn't stop there with his peculiar actions. He let go of Jakotsu's arm, grabbed his chin and squeeze his jaw tightly, forcing Jakotsu's mouth open. His other hand shifted his lips away and he gazed at his teeth like he he was checking for something.

_Ookaay...what exactly am I missing here?_

Seeming satisfying, the man pulled away from Jakotsu and looked at his mother.

"Has he ever...been _had_ before?"

"That depends on what you mean." Shizuka answered "If you mean has he ever worked for anyone other than me before then no. If you mean if he is still a virgin then yes. Take your pick." The man "hmm"ed again and looked at Jakotsu long and hard. Jakotsu just stared back with a blank look, not quite sure of what to do.

Finally the man nodded and looked back at his mother.

"How much?"

"How much what?" Jakotsu blurted before he could stop himself.

"Jakotsu," his mother said, ignoring his slip-up "Go and wait outside for a moment." More confused than ever, Jakotsu did as he was told, sliding the door behind him. he leaned his head against the door to listen, but his mother's shout "AND DON'T YOU DARE EAVESDROP!" caused him to stumble and fall back onto the ground, though he made sure to throw his sword to the side before he landed on it. He heard laughing and looked up from his position on the ground to see the oldest servant giggling at him, though not unkindly. Jakotsu just glared and stood up, rubbing his thigh that was sore from the fall.

"So, who's the ugly guy in there?" he asked the servant.

"I'm not really sure, Master Jakotsu," the man walked over to the fallen sword and picked it up, though with a little bit of difficulty because of it's weight "but he's apparently very important. Your mother sent my son, one of the other servants you see, to another daimyo's province a few days ago with a message, though what that message was, I'm not quite sure." The man held Jakotsutou out to it's owner and he took it.

"Had she ever done that before?"

"Only once, about two years ago, when you...came to the castle. I was the messenger then. She had wanted to sign the rights of all the former daimyo's lands and the rest of his armies over to him, excluding the castle and it's grounds. Though what the matter is now, I'm afraid my son will not tell me for he himself does not know either, she had sent him with a letter." Before Jakotsu could ask anything futher, the door opened and his mother and "Ugly Man" came out.

"Servant," she said "go now and retrieve Master Yori's horse. Jakotsu, I need to talk to you for a second." With that, Shizuka turned back inside and "Ugly Yori" went with the servant to get his horse. Jakotsu slung his sword against his shoulder and entered the room, where his mother was waiting.

"Mother, why was...?"

"Be quiet, Jakotsu, and let me speak. You remember how I told you to always obey your leader?" Jakotsu nodded "Remember that always as your most important priority. I am telling you this, because after today, I will no longer be your leader."

_What! What is she saying? Is...is mother...sending me away?  
_

His mother continued "That man, Yori, comes from another province not far from here. The diamyo, Takehiko, is a strong man with a mass army with many soldiers and samuri. I have decided that you shall join them."

So she _was _sending him away! No, she had _sold _him away! But why? Had he displeased her? Was she tired of him? Why didn't she want him any more? His thoughts then turned to the other soldiers in the diamyo's army? He wasn't quite sure how he would communicate with them. The only time had had talked to a group that had more then five people was...well never! And what's more, if any of the guys were cute, how would he be able to hold himself back from cutting them to pieces? His mother stop his thoughts in their tracks.

"I'm sending you away for experience," she stepped closer to him, he was so tall that he could look his mother, who was quite tall herself, straight in the eye "and also so you can gather companions. Not _friends_, mind you, but men who you shall fight with. And when the time is right," she lowered her voice, and evil glint in her brown, catlike eyes "I want you to kill Lord Takehiko."

Jakotsu was dumbfounded.

"But...won't he be my leader? You said that I should..."

"The general you shall serve under shall be your leader, but the only two ways you can 'disobey' him, is if you overpower him and take over yourself or join another leader. Do you understand, my son?"

"But, Mother, why do you want me to kill...?"

"Do you understand?" She used the tone of voice that said 'answer my question and I won't hurt you'. So he just nodded, though he didn't realy understand at all. He thought killing was just for fun...but there now seemed to be reasons behind it. He heard a knock at the door and his mother told the person to enter. It was the servant again. He came in with a confused expression and said to Shizuka, "Master Yori is ready to go, Mistress, but he told me to send him your son."

"Very well." she said "Come Jakotsu." Jakotsu silently followed her outside, where Yori, seated on the horse, was waiting for them with the creepy wagon. Jakotsu felt Jakotsutou shift on his shoulder and he turned to see his mother grabbing the hilt. "You shall not be taking Jakotsutou. That still belongs to me."

"What! But..."

"Once you've completed your mission, the last command I'm giving you as your leader, then you will have earned it." She pried the beloved sword from his hand and he reluctantly let go, sighing as he did so. She slung the sword onto her own shoulder and nudged her son over to the wagon, the servant following behind them.

Yori took one glance at Jakotsu and sniffed arrogantly.

"Put him in the back." he said haughtily to the servant. The servant looked to Shizuka for confirmation and she nodded. Almost hesitantly, the servant lead Jakotsu to the back of the wagon and opened the gate. Jakotsu grimaced as he saw the manacles bound to the sides and really didn't want to climb in, but he had no choice. So, grabbing the sides for support, he pulled himself up into the wagon. The servant followed afterward and chained two of the manacles to each of Jakotsu's wrists with an apologetic look. He then stepped down and closed the gate.

Jakotsu felt the wagon jerk and quickly grabbed the side to keep from falling. As the the wagon rolled further away, he just continued to stare at his mother and the incredible sword, the only two things he had been allowed to love in his life, through the flat bars until they reached the outer gate when he could no longer see the sword's glint or hear his mother whisper "Do not fail me, my son."

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Jakotsu could do nothing the entire journey but sit on the floor and suffer through the endless bumps and jerks the wagon made due to the horrible wheels. The chains that his manacles were bound to weren't very long, so he had to keep his elbows bent and let his wrists hang fom the shackles. In his hand was a double-prong pin with a big blue tip with red butterflies. The pin he had bought from Etsuko, in the village where he had made his first kill.

He had kept it in his pocket and had taken it out a little ways into the drive. Right then, he knew he could pick the locks on his shackles and the door of the wagon and make a break for it. He could escape, quickly run back home to steal Jakotsutou, and start a team of his own (hopefully with some cute guys) that would fight everything from demons to soldiers just for fun and eventually carry out his mother's wish of killing this daimyo, Takehiko. It seemed like the perfect plan...except it would be disobeying his mother. Her last command was to find companions in this 'army' and then kill the daimyo with them. He didn't know if it mattered that these 'campanions' _had_ to be from the the diamyo's army, but he didn't want to chance it. He would obey his mother's wish. He clenched the pin tightly in his hand and sighed.

After a while, his arms felt tired and ached from hanging from the hard iron too long.

"Hey, Master Yori?" he called back "Are these chains really all that necessary? I mean, it's not like I can go anywhere anyway."

"Hold your tongue, Boy!" he called back in his annoying voice "How dare you speak to me without permission! Don't you know that you are no longer a free person? Your practically a slave who belongs to Lord Takehiko and there are certain rules that you must follow! Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you about the rules you are to follow once we arrive." he dramatically cleared his throat, which made the confined boy roll his eyes and blow a piece of his bangs out of his eye "First of all, the most important rule is that if you should ever be approached or addressed by Lord Takehiko, himself, (though I highly doubt you will) you shall show him the proper respect by bowing to him and never speaking until he gives you the privilege of doing so. You shall likewise do this with your surperiors, such as me and your commanding general."

_This guy sure likes the sound of his own voice, doesn't he? _Jakotsu thought dryly.

"Also, when we arrive, you shall not be immediately sent to the army as you may think. You shall be sent, instead, to the training camp at the western side of the magnificent castle grounds and you shall be severly punished if you ever try to go anywhere outside the assigned areas. You shall be sent to the army once the general thinks you are ready, which shall be at least three or four years."

_Three of four years! Damn! This is gonna take a lot longer than I thought! _

"You shall be able to recognize the other people's positions by the clothes they wear. The residents of the castle shall be easy to discern, since they shall be adorned in the finest material. You and the other trainees, however, shall wear a simple short grey outfit which has no sleeves and a simple belt (NOTE: Something like Kohaku's outfit only a little longer). The pants you currently have on shall be acceptable, though, I suppose.Your inferiors(yes there are those who are below even you, mainly those who shall clean up after you and bring you water and food) shall be dressed likewise only in dark brown. Your meals shall be served..."

Jakotsu only half listened to the rest. It was hard to be believe that he would have to wait years to earn Jakotsutou back and what was to gaurantee that his mother would still be at the castle by the time he had completed his assignment? Jakotsu shut his eyes, sighed, and hung limply against the chains.

"You understand all of this?" he heard Yori finished.

"Yessir." Jakotsu answered as he drifted off to sleep, having nothing better to do.

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It was morning when they had left and it was late at night when they had arrived.

Jakotsu was jolted awake after what seemed like only a couple of seconds by a rough shake by a strong hand. He opened his eyes to see a large, muscular man dressed samuri's armor staring at him with an almost questioning, yet amused, look on his face.

"_You're _the new arrival?" he said "You seem a bit too skinny." Jakotsu shrugged.

"So, is thickness a requirement?"

_Slap!_

"You watch your tongue, boy!" the man grunted. Jakotsu was, too say the least, shocked. He had never been struck before and it candidly hurt both him and his pride. It seemed almost comical that something as minor as being smacked fazed him, but he had only been used to causing pain, not recieving it, and he discovered that he didn't like it at all. As the man placed his large hand on one of the shackles, Jakotsu took a long look at him, studied his features, and concluded instantly since he wasn't very handsome anyway, with his large nose, sun-burnt skin, and long filthy, scraggly hair, that he didn't like this guy. But he could ony glare as the man unlocked his restrains and Jakotsu was relieved at that at least. But he barely had time to rub his wrists before the man grabbed his shoulder and practically flung him from the wagon.

He was just able to to twist himself into a halfway decent landing postion berfore he hit the ground. He had landed on his hands and knees and was staring at the ground as he waited for the painful shock of hitting the ground to pass.

"What's this?" he heard the man say as he jumped from the wagon and landed with a _thud_ beside him. Jakotsu looked up to see what he was holding in his hand. It was the pin he was holding earlier! It must've slipped out of his hand while he was asleep!

"Oh, that's mine!" Jakotsu said, holding his hand out. 'Muscle Man' just kicked it away and grinned at the metal object.

"A little gift for the Lady? How kind of you. I'm sure she will like it."

"Give it back!" Jakotsu lunged at the man, but he was suddenly grabbed from behind by two men who were almost as muscular as the one before him. He hadn't noticed before, but they were at what appeared to be a back gate that was illuminated in firelight from torches attached to the massive walls. Yori, apparently, was no longer on the horse and had left already. There were other muscular men standing around who must've been guards. They laughed as Jakotsu struggled with his captors, trying to reach the man who was holding his pin.

That man laughed as Jakotsu's vain attempts as well.

When Jakotsu realized his attempts to break free weren't working, he resorted to using his teeth. With a quick movement he wrenched one of the hands on his arm closer and bit deeply into it. That only angered the man who had a hold on him and his already tense grip tightened painfully. It also derseved Jakotsu another slap from who was apparently the leader, the one who had provoked the struggling boy in the first place.

"Calm down, kid. You belong to this place now, along with everything else you posses." The leader grabbed Jakotsu's chin and tilted it up to meet his eyes "And if you continue to act like this, we have...special ways of punishing you and I can gaurantee that you will not enjoy them." With that, the man patted Jakotsu's cheek twice, none too gently, and jerked his head in a direction to the other men. "Take him to an empty room. I don't want to put him with someone else yet. He might kill him in his sleep." The two cronies nodded and pulled him into the indicated direction.

The leader dismissed the other guards but gestured one of the men to step c;oser.

"Yes, General Raidon?" the asked guard, standing at attention.

"I want a close eye kept on that one." he said, his eyes still fixed on the retreating forms "I like his fire and his spirit, but we must also be wary of it."

"Yes, General." the gaurd said bowing. He was about to turn when he heard his leader say something else, "Uh...what was that, Sir?"

"He's also a pretty young thing, don't you think?" the General said. The gaurd didn't really know how to answer. Did the General mean he was _pretty _or pretty _young_? He just answered with a simple:

"Yes, General, if you say so."

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The two men 'led' Jakotsu to an area that was further in. It was darker here, due to there not being as many torches, but Jakotsu could see that this area was full of shabby huts that had at least one gaurd stationed near every other one. The two men lead him to one of the small hut and threw him inside past the cloth that served as the door. Jakotsu landed on his knees for the second time that night and glared at the men who were now inside the room.

"This is where you'll stay for now." one of them said "Don't even think about trying to escape because if you do try it, you'll recieve one of those "special punishments" the general was talking about. In the morning, at the sound of the bell, you'll come outside and follow the other men to where you'll receive the morning meal and a change of clothes. There you'll be able to get information of how the rest of the day will be. So, if I were you, I'd sleep now while you still can." With that said, the men turned and left Jaktosu in almost complete darkness. Jakotsu strained his eyes in the dark and saw that the pathetic hut held no more than a chamber pot and a mat with a blanket.

Sighing defeatedly, he crawled over to the poor excuse for a mat and covered himself with the thin blanket. Although he was not tired at all because he had sleep the whole day, he forced himself into at least a half slumber.

_So, that bastard was the General, huh? _he thought _Damn. That means I'll have to listen to him without question. Mother, I hope that this daimyo is worth this.

* * *

_(NOTE): Look, I'm really sorry about this, but this is my last document so I won't be able to post again for quite some time :(. I try to update as soon as I update my Microsoft Word though! Just tell me what you thought of the chapter!


	6. First Day

(NOTE): 'Lo! I forgot I had another computer (sweatdrop). Ah well...

* * *

Jakotsu woke the next morning to a loud _Clang! _that made him wince. He slowly opened his eyes. It was still pretty dark inside the hut, but it was probably because of the curtain door blocking the only opening the small hut provided. He groaned as he sat up and stretched. 

_Boy, it's funny how sleeping makes you tired _he thought as he stood up, causing the blanket to fall from his form.

Sighing, he pulled back the curtain, expecting to be hit with a sharp glare of sunlight. Yet, when he stepped outside, he noticed that the sun hadn't even risen. The horizon was light pink beneath dark blue background, which showed it was nearly morning, but still extremely early.

_Too early._

He looked around to see other men emerging from the other huts, some groaning and muttering, others rubbing their eyes. He saw that most wearing only a plain fundoshi, but a few, like him, were wearing poorly made shorts, although most of them reached up only to mid-thigh. Not even bothering to look for a handsome face or form amongst them, as he felt too groggy to care, he followed the other men into line that was forming towards the outside of the hut area.

The line moved forward slowly, seeming to take over an hour before Jakotsu could see what it led to. He saw a row of two long tables. One table held a mass of gray clothes, ropes, and simple sandles; the other table was piled with plain wooden bowls and chopsticks. As he neared the table of clothing he was thrust a short, sleeveless kimono, a thin rope for a meager sash, and a pair of sandles by a skinny man in a similar brown outfit standing behind the table.

He followed the other men's example by slipping the thin but clean kimono on, tying the rope around his waist, and slidding the sandles on his feet before picking up a wooden bowl and a pair of chopsticks. The line went on and they eventually came to a hut that was considerably larger (and cleaner) than the rest. Right outside the doorway were a few large steaming pots over fires. Other men clad in brown were scooping up what looked like wet rice from the pots and plopping it into the soldeir trainee's bowls.

Jakotsu eventually reached the pots and received his own breakfast. He crinkled his nose at the stuff and looked up at the man who had served him.

"Is this really all we get to eat around here?" he asked.

"Shut up, Boy, and take your seat!" the grump answered before he turned to another man.

"Hmpf. Just asking." Jakotsu muttered as he continued down the line. It eventuall stopped at many rows of tables, where the other men were already sitting on benches and eating their small meals.

He couldn't help but feel a little nervous around so many people, but he ignored the strange feeling at headed to sit at the end of a table next to a man who was clearly experienced, due to the many scars on his muscular arms. His bowl was held up to his chin and he was scooping the food into his mouth sloppily.

"Yo." Jakotsu said.

The man just grunted and continued to slup his food.

"So, what exactly is gonna go on around here? During the day I mean."

The man put down his bowl, swallowed, wiped his mouth on his arm, looked at Jakotsu, and smiled. The man was large and bald with a wide nose and kind but small eyes (though not as tiny as Yori's).

"Ya new, huh?" he said. (Pretend he has a New York accent :D. Sorry, I just LOVE New York accents!) Jakotsu nodded. "Ya look a little too thin ta be in a place like this."

"So I've been told." Jakotsu murmured. The man just shrugged.

"Eh well, anyways, I guess ya can pretty much tell what goes on in the mornin's. Afta breakfast, since ya new, ya gonna be goin' with the otha newbies ta that area." He pointed in a direction that looked like it was behind the hut that was serving the "food".

"Other newbies?"

"Yeh, the daimyo got alotta new ones last night. I'm surprised ya ain't sittin' by them." He then pointed to another table that held men that didn't have as many scars or muscles, but they all looked more husky than Jakotsu, even the ones who were younger than him. "Didn't ya come with them?"

"No." Jakotsu said, trying to take a taste of his meal, but it was so wet, he couldn't pick it up with his chopsticks "I was sold seperately."

"Oh, so _you're _the cause'a the commotion we heard last night.Oh and if ya wanna eat that, ya gotta bring the bowl up ta ya mouth."

"You heard that?" Jakotsu said, though pretty much uninterested "Last night?" He brought the bowl up to his mouth and tasted the rice. It wasn't too bad. At least it was horrible, but it could get old really fast.

"Yeah we heard ya! Ya were making so much noise ya could'a woken the dead! Didn't we hear him, boys!" he shouted down the table.

"Pipe down, Daichi!" one of the men snapped. The man, Daichi, just chuckled and turned back to Jakotsu.

"Yeah, by the way, the name's Daichi."

"Jakotsu." Jakotsu said, placing the bowl down.

"Heh, thea's a name ya don't hea everyday. Well, Jakotsu, as I was sayin', the General Raidon (be carful o' him by the way) is gonna give ya...eh call it a 'pep talk', and he'll be able ta take it from thea."

Jakotsu nodded.

"So, how long have you been here for?"

"'Bout four yeas. I was awefully chubby when I first came and I've lost alotta weight since then. In fact, I'm gonna be goin inta the army soon. I'll soon be a soldiea!"

"Congrats." Jakotsu said, though not very enthusiastically.

"Thanks, kid." Daichi said anyway "Ya okay. Oh, breakfast is ova! Ya better get goin! Lata kid!" Daichi then got off his seat, leaving the bowl resting on the table,and went in another direction. Jakotsu left his bowl and utensils on the table as well and hurried off into the direction Daichi had pointed to.

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When he arrived, there were the other newcomers who were being formed into ranks and were being given, by men clad in samurai uniforms, long wooden sticks that were nearly as tall as the men themselves

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." a gruff voice said. Jakotsu turned to see the general...what was it?...Ryuu?...Raidon?...smirking at him. He came up to Jakotsu and put a hand on his shoulder and Jakotsu resisted the urge to bite it. He then felt very uncomfortable as he realized the general was looking at him from head to foot. His eyes stopped when they reached his knees and he tutted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk I see those boney little knees of yours have developed bruises from all that 'tossing about' last night." His eyes returned to Jakotsu's face. "Well, unless you want to bruise that tender skin of yours even more, I suggest you pay attention, learn, and do as your told. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yessir." Jakotsu said, almost hissing at him. He then grudgingly bowed his head at him and looked back up. The general smiled and grabbed the back of his head.

"There's a good boy. Now get in line!" He then pushed Jakotsu's head forward toward the now well-formed ranks, sending him to the front of a line and nearly crashing into another man. He barely had time to turn around before a stick came flying toward him and he quickly caught it.

"Stand attention!" The general shouted and everyone did as they were told. General Raidon smiled and looked over the other men as one of the other gaurds handed him a stick. "Men!" he boomed loudly "I am General Raidon. You shall call me either General or Sir, understand?"

"Yes Sir!" came the answer. The general smirked again and began to pace along the lines.

"Just so we're clear, you should know you have a long mission ahead of you, but I don't want you to think of it as merely 'training to be a soldier'. I want you to think of it as an art and as a learning experience. While you are here, under my command, you will learn...ALERTNESS!" He quickly lept in front of a man and aimed the top of the stick for his head. The man gasped and raised his own stick and was able to block the sudden attack. But the general then quickly rose the bottom of the stick and struck the man in the gut, cause the other man to drop his own 'weapon' and sink to the ground, holding his injured stomach and groaning in pain.

General Raidon then began to pace again, as though nothing had happened.

"You shall learn endurance. Strength. Skill. Speed. But you shall also experience fatigue. Sickness. Stiffness. PAIN!" He ran at another man and took him down with the first attack to the head. The man fell unconscious to the ground and there was a large gash in his forehead.

It seemed everyone was on their gaurd after that as the general started pacing again.

"Soreness." he finished "But if you do as I say and listen and learn, then I garauntee, it shall all be worth it. I can teach you all the basics..and much more. I can teach you how to defend. Protect. Attack. SURPRISE!"

He made another move...but this time, at Jakotsu. Reacting quickly, Jakotsu raised his stick and blocked the first blow to his head. He was even able to block the attack to his gut, to his neck, to his side, to his knee cap, and to his face, before the general was finally able to stike the side of Jakotsu's thigh, knocking him off balance.

Jakotsu grimaced and fell to his knees but refused to let go of his weapon. He glared determinedly up at General Raidon, who looked thoroughly amused.

"Impressive." he said "I see you've had some previous training. Well I must say, you'll be a fun one to teach."

Jakotsu just smirked and continued to glare as he shakily rose to his feet, paying no heed to the ache in his leg. Apparently, he had been so used to swinging Jakotsutou around, he had almost forgotten how to use other defenses and attacks.

General Raidon looked at him one last time before he began to pace again.

"You saw the fight this one put up. Well I can teach you more then twice as much as those moves he used. Let this boy...what's your name?"

"Jakotsu." he said softly.

"Speak up!"

"Jakotsu." he said, louder this time.

"This boy, Jakotsu, be an example for you. Now, first I want to see what the rest of you have got. Pair up!" Jakotsu turned to find a partner and choose the man behind him, who looked nervous at having Jakotsu for an opponent.

_Okay looking...but just not my type._

"Don't worry," Jakotsu teased "I can make it quick and painless." The man just gulped.

General Raidon's voice called out again. "Spread out! Good. Now ATTACK!"

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The rest of the morning was spent attacking each other and "discovering your opponets and your own strengths and weaknesses", as the general had put it. By noon, every man was tired and sweaty and the General called for some young boys dressed in brown to come out, carriyng buckets of water and wooden cups. They went from person to person, handing them a cup of water, taking it to from one man to another, and sometimes leaving to refill the buckets.

Jakotsu was sitting on the ground and wiping his forehead with his arm when a cup full of water was thrust in front of his face. Not even looking up, Jakotsu took the cup and drained it, but rembered to sip it patiently instead of gulping it down like some of the other men who would occasionally choke on their water.

When the cup was empty, he handed it back to the boy, but it was again thrust back into his face after it had been refilled. Jakotsu looked up at the boy curiously and nearly gasped.

In front of him was a boy no older than twelve, but he was showing signs of being very handsome. His skin was perfectly tanned from the sun and his black bangs fell into his dark azure eyes, which were surrounded by thick lashes. His hair reached to a little below his ears and it looked as if it had been cut off in a hurry, but the boy was very attractive, nonetheless.

Jakotsu must have been staring for a long time because the boy eventually said, "Well? Are you gonna take it or not?"

"Uh..yeah. Thanks." Jakotsu took the cup back but paused as he brought it to his lips. "But...am I allowed?"

"Yeah. The General told me to give you extra water. Something about you being a 'good boy' or whatever." The boy rolled his eyes.

Jakotsu smiled and drank the water before handing it back to the boy.

"So, what's your name?" Jakotsu asked.

"None of your business. And by the way Newbie, just so you know, remember this as the most important rule: If anything happens to you, it's your own fault." The boy turned and he moved to give water to another man.

Jakotsu couldn't help but keep the smile on his face. He didn't know why, but for some reason he liked this boy, already respected him somewhat, and not just because of his looks. For someone so young and...well..._inferior _for lack of a better word, he had the air of someone with a lot of control and authority even if he had no power over anyone.

Yeah he was good-looking, but Jakotsu didn't feel the desire to cut him up like he would with other attractive guys. He felt no rush of excitement, urge to kill, nor any sign of lust, either.

He didn't know _what_ it was, but there was definitely something different about this boy...

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The 'lessons' went on for the rest of the day, until finally, they were allowed to go to and bathe. Apparently, they had arrived on the day in which once a week, the men who were new got to bathe in the river that was just at the edge of their area. (The week was divided into the times when the commanding generals of the area got to bathe, then the guards, then the men who had been there four years, then three years, then two, then one, then the ones who hadn't been there a year yet aka 'newbies'.The army itself was located in another area, so they bathed in a different part of the long river.) Jakotsu followed the rest of the tired sweaty men into a forest area_...Just how big **are** these 'castle grounds'_?...and stooped at a rocky area near the river.

He watched as the other men tore their clothes off and splashed into the cold water. Jakotsu just watched as the men splashed and hooted in the river, but he was, shockingly, uninterested. And in all honesty, he didn't even _want _to join them.

He had always perfered to bathe alone.

So he walked away from the other men and followed the river down for a while until he no longer could hear the other men's distracting noise. Eventually he came to a small pool the had a little waterfall and he nodded approvingly at the welcoming site. He took off his clothes and his sandles and lowered himself into the cool water.

Jakotsu sighed as he he washed aways the dirt and sweat and dunked his head into the water. He then came back up and leaned against a large rock, shutting his eyes for a moment, enjoying the tranquility and peace of the silence and rubbin his hand lightly over the bruise forming on his thigh.

Though, little did he know that he had accidently stepped out of his assigned area and was now being watched by a pair of dark eyes that gleamed in the darkness.

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The person watching him was a young girl around thirteen, though her body made her look to be considerably older. This was one of the daughters of Daimyo Takehiko himself, and in being so, she was a spoiled brat. She was well aware that she was extremely well-developed and attractive for her age and took advantage of it by flirting with many of the servant boys, although she really had no interest in them whatsoever.

She would often come to this particular pool not to bathe, but to simply enjoy sitting by it, as she had intended to do that afternoon, right after she had gotten one of the servant boys in trouble for flirting with her and giggled as he had gotten beaten for it. But when she had arrived at her destination, she had been surprised to see a handsome young man around fifteen or sixteen taking a bath in her pool.

She could tell he was one of the training soldiers because of the gray clothes at the edge of the pool, but what was he doing out of his section of the grounds?

The pool belong to_ her _and _**ONLY** _to her, but, for some reason, she didn't mind at all that _this_ boy was using it to bathe in. She actually enjoyed seeing the attractive young man sitting in _her_ personal pool. She thought he looked absolutely stunning in the fading light. He had an almost angelic face, except for the unsual scars running down his cheeks.

She licked his lips as he watched the water roll off the boy's pale skin and clung to his dark tresses and she had the greatest to just run out there and...

But, no, she had to wait. The boy was too young and she herself was hardly the appropriate age yet, even in her own opinion. Yes, she would wait until they were both older, both ready, and then she could...she blushed before she finished the thought.

She only watched patiently as the boy finally climbed out of the water, redressed himself, and made his way back toward the village of the other trainees...

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(NOTE): Bet you know who the kid Jakotsu talked to is huh? Sorry about the New York accent thing, but...Oh I just couldn't resist! (Yeah OK, slap me if you want, it was worth it :)). And I also gave the chapters names! So what you think? 

(P.S. BTW Ididntdoit07 (luv the name!) what character are you talking about? Please don't just leave me hanging, I'm pretty dumb you know!)


	7. Deal

(NOTE): Hello! Thanks to my all faithful reviewers who make my **boring** days so special /Sniffle/ You guys are so great!...Ahem...NE way...

(And oh yeah, thanks for the info Ididntdoit07! I'm sorry if it's awkward for you to read the character's name in this fic...but maybe you could just switch General 'Raidon' with...I don't know, Ryuu? Just a suggestion, but, whatever ;).)

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_Clang!_

Jakotsu groaned as he heard the all too familiar 'bell' sound out to start yet another tedious day of training. It had only been a few months or so since he had arrived at Lord Takehiko's castle to train to become a soldier and he was already fed up with it. He never got to actually cut someone up and if evenif hegot to hurt some one at all it would be by hitting his opponent with a training stick. He was even beginning to forget what it felt like to rush into battle and kill a cute guy or two. It was true that Jakotsu loved fighting, but he wished that, just once, the general would let him and the other trainee's have some _real _action!

Jakotsu shuddered as he thought of General Raidon. Thankfully, the general hadn't really said more than two or three words directly to Jakotsu since the first day, but the general didn't have to say anything for him to make Jakotsu feel uncomfortable.

It seemed that every time Jakotsu turned to look at him, the general would always be staring straight back as if he had been watching him the entire time. This annoyed Jakotsu more than it scared him; what made him wary of the general was the look he would give him. It was still the same stern gaze he gave everyone, but Jakotsu could almost see something that resembled a strange kind of adoration in General Raidon's dark eyes, and it wasn't the sweet kind either.

Personally, Jakotsu preferred not to think about it.

But although Jakotsu wouldn't look forward to seeing the general, he would look forward to the water breaks, when he would see that young, blue-eyed boy. Jakotsu would usually try to strike up a conversation with him or maybe get the boy to tell him his name, but the boy never seemed to want to talk very much. Either that or he was just too busy.

Jakotsu yawned and stretched his arms before he practically crawled to the doorway, standing up as he pulled the curtain back. The general would train them from early in the morning to late at night so the men only got about five (or six if they were lucky) hours to sleep.

Jakotsu, not completely used to this schedule yet, would find it difficult to wake up in the mornings and was amazed that he could even manage to walk to the line for food and clothing without tripping over his own feet.

The food wasn't much help in waking him up, but he just swallowed it down and continued on to where his group was meeting today. He ignored the general standing at the front of the now perfectly formed ranks and silently received his stick and got into his line, which was at the front of the line closest to the general.

_Of course._

"Listen up, Men!"

_/Sigh/ Nothing like waking up to the sound of a general shouting at you._

"I'm a little disappointed that it's only been a couple of months and you're already bored with fighting...but because your fighting with children's playthings I don't really blame you either. So I've decided..." he reached out a hand and a guard handed him a sword, which the general took and held up to display to everyone "that today, you'll be fighting with actual weapons."

Jakotsu felt his heart leap! _Finally_, they were going to fight with something other than a stupid wooden stick!

But his excited heartbeat turned into a nervous one as General Raidon walked straight up to him. The general took Jakotsu's stick with one hand and held out the sword to him with the other. Jakotsu immediately gave the stick to the general and took the sword into his hands. It felt good to be holding something deadly again.

It wasn't Jakotsutou, but it would do.

"It's time to stop playing with kids' toys and fight like real men!" the general said as he grabbed another sword from a guard and lunged for Jakotsu with a loud cry.

Jakotsu looked up, hearing the general's shout, and blocked the general's attack at once. When the general's sword struck his own and he heard the metal crash against each other, the stimulating thrill of the fight came rushing back to Jakotsu at full speed and he finally felt fully awake for the fist in a long time. The general continued to stab and swing his weapon at the now fully alert trainee, but Jakotsu was able to block every attack as the men behind him backed away and the other men around him circled closer to watch.

After a while, Jakotsu decided to make thing a little more interesting.

With a great laugh, Jakotsu blocked another attack and began advancements of his own. The general seemed shocked to have been forced, more like tricked, to be put on the defense, but inside he was burning with enjoyment. It had been a long time since General Raidon had been brought from the army and sent to serve as a trainer, and he had quickly become tired and bored with how he always was the one throwing blows at the students and rarely received much of a challenge. But this boy before him was striking at him endlessly with the strength and boldness the general had longed desired to see again...and it fascinated him.

This boy gave him an actual battle.

Jakotsu's movements were admitting a bit sloppy, but that was because with Jakotsutou, he needed more strength than grace. As the fight continued, Jakotsu and the general moved across the training ground, lashing and swinging at each other, trying to put their opponent on the defense.

The other trainees and the guards watched in amazement as the student and the student fought, neither one seeming to tireyet both enjoying every moment.

Finally, the general was able to put the stubborn student back on the defense. Jakotsu started to panic as the strikes became faster and closer to his face. He began to jump backwards to keep away from the consistent blows, but the general was somehow able to keep up with his pace and continued to strike at him.

Eventually, the general became too close for comfort and Jakotsu freaked out. As quick as a flash, he backflipped twice out of the general's reach and landed in a crouched position, the sword still clutched tightly in his hand as he panted for breath.

He had done this so quickly, that it took a moment for General Raidon and the other men to realize how much Jakotsu had distanced himself from the general.

They were all shocked not only by his speed, but also by his technique. The general was especially intrigued.

"Where did you learn how to do that, Boy?" Jakotsu panted a few more breaths before he finally stood.

"My mother, Sir." he answered.

"Oh, so she was a fighter was she?" the general sounded almost sarcastic. Any pride that Jakotsu felt from shocking the other men was gone. "And where did _she _learn that interesting maneuver?"

_How the heck should I know? It's none of your business anyway._

"I don't know, General." he said, having no choice but to answer.

"Hmm." The general stared at Jakotsu for a while, making the young man a little uncomfortable. "You said your name was Jakotsu?" Jakotsu nodded. "Strange name. Means 'snake bone' or something like that, correct? Well, I guess I can see why now. That move was about a fast as a serpent's strike, wasn't it?" It was a statement more than a question, and for some reason, it made Jakotsu feel a tug of worry. But he buried the feeling and shrugged.

"If you say so, Sir." The general smirked.

"Well then, Serpent, I think you've deserved a little break. Go off to the side for a while. One of the water boys will bring you something to drink." The general then turned to the other still gawking men. "The rest of you split up into pairs and grab a weapon from one of the guards! Don't just stand there! Get going!"

Jakotsu walked off to the side and sighed as he sat down on the ground while the other men scrambled to rearrange themselves. The fight had been fun, but the general's words...and the new nickname...it made him feel even more uneasy.

It was also a little unusual that the general still remembered Jakotsu's name after months of hardly talking to him, but then again, Jakotsu _was_ a pretty unique name.

He was brought out of his thoughts as a cup of water was thrust under his nose and glanced up to see who was holding it. It was him! The blue-eyed boy!

"Thanks." Jakotsu smiled as he took the cup and drained it. He was surprised when the boy shrugged and said, "No problem." He was even more shocked, but pleased, as the boy put down his bucket and sat down beside Jakotsu.

"I saw you out there, you know?" he said "It's too bad you didn't kill that bastard of a general." Jakotsu put the cup down, happy that the boy he had longed to get to know was talking to him.

"Don't like him very much?"

"What do you think?" The boys gaze went to the general, his azure eyes filled with anger. "He constantly tries to find some reason punish me, just cuz I tried to get away from this place once." He turned back to Jakotsu, almost forming a smile. "Anyway, I just wanted to come over and propose...eh, call it a deal."

"Hmm? What kind of deal did you have in mind?"

"Listen, here's the thing. I've been here for about five years, working always as a servant and a water boy, and believe me, that gets old really fast. What I'd really like to do is fight. I used to watch trainees and I learned little from that, but a few months ago, I convinced a guy to teach me a few of the techniques. He recently got transferred into the army, though, so now I need a new tutor. Think you'd be interested?"

Jakotsu wanted desperately to say "Sure!", but the boy had said that this was a deal, so why not see what the boy had to offer?

"In exchange for...?" he said, trying to sound only mildly interested. The water boy smirked.

"Like I said. I've been here for about five years and I'm on the good side of...most of the other servants here. So I know how to get into some of the other areas...and even some places in the castle. If you agree to become my tutor, I can help you get in and out of certain places without being noticed or questioned. I can even get you something decent to eat from the kitchens." The boy held out his hand to Jakotsu. "So, what do you say? Is it a deal?"

Jakotsu looked at the hand for a minute a made a small show that made him appear to be pondering on whether or not he should agree. He pouted his lips and tapped his finger against his chin, looking like he was fighting a mental battle.

"Well..." he said finally "Okay. Deal." He grasped the other boy's hand and shook it. The other boy grinned. "But, to make it final, we have to tell each other our names. Mine's Jakotsu and yours is...?"

"Taro." the boy said, letting go of Jakotsu's hand.

"JAKOTSU!" The boys nearly jumped as they heard the general's voice. "Break's over, Serpent! Get over here!" Jakotsu sighed and handed Taro back the cup. As the boy took it he grasped Jakotsu's wrist.

"An hour before the training's over, fake a sprained ankle or something. I can tell the general likes you and he give certain privileges to the students he likes."

"Is that good or bad?"

"In this case: good. It means he'll let you out of training early and go to the physician or rest in your hut for the rest of the day."

_Hmph, if I'd have know that I would've broken a leg on purpose by now._

"But instead of going to your hut or to the physician," Taro continued "you're going to meet me near the gate wall behind the huts. I'll tell the guards to allow you access." With that, Taro raised himself from the ground and walked back to the nearby hut.

"Serpent!" General Raidon called out again "Get over here, NOW!" With a groan, Jakotsu swung his sword against his shoulder and walked over to the general. As he observed them, he realized why they had been fighting with sticks for so long. Even after months, the men were still very sloppy fighters.

He reached the general and waited to be assigned a partner, keeping his eyes to the ground. He suppressed a shudder as the general put his hand under his chin and lifted Jakotsu's face to meet his own.

"I'm being promoted you know." the general said "I'm going to be teaching the first years staring tomorrow since their general has gotten sick and is about to kick the bucket." Jakotsu felt hopeful that the general wouldn't be teaching him anymore, but General Raidon wasn't quite finished. "I've decided that you shall be promoted right along with me. I can tell you're better than a Newbie, and you should be treated as such. So, starting tomorrow, you'll follow me to the first years training grounds. Is that understood, Serpent?"

_Fantastic. _Jakotsu felt his stomach drop.

"Yes, Sir."

The general gave him a smug grin, but he continued to hold onto the uneasy boy's chin "You really are a special one, Serpent. I could tell that from the first day." Jakotsu didn't at all know what to say, so he just stayed silent. The general finally let go of Jakotsu's chin.

"Now go find a partner." Jakotsu bowed and rushed as quickly as he could from the general, trying to think of his meeting with Taro that night to cheer himself up.

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As he had been instructed, Jakotsu pretended to strain his ankle an hour or so before practice was over and sure enough, the general allowed him to go back to his hut.

It was long passed sunset, but he had no problem seeing where he was going due to the lit torches against the huts and the walls. He strolled to the very back of the small village, passing the guards without once being stopped and found Taro standing there with two swords in his hands.

Upon seeing Jakotsu enter, he tossed one of the swords to his new tutor.

"We wont be able to see each other very often until you become a first year, in which you'll only have to train for half of the day, about as long as I have to work. So until then, we'll make up excuses as often as we can."

Jakotsu brightened at that news.

"That shouldn't be a problem. The general's promoted me to first year...along with himself." Taro looked amused at first but then frowned.

"The general must really like you a lot. But just be warned, that may not always be a good thing. And remember what I told you when we first met."

Jakotsu remembered: _If anything happens to you, it's your own fault._

"Just be careful." Taro then held up his sword in an offensive position. "In the meantime, why don't I show you what I've got."

Jakotsu then smiled as he nodded and held up his own sword before Taro rushed at him.

Throughout their small battle, Taro proved to be very good, but Jakotsu was far more experienced, so he won in a matter of minutes. Throughout their 'hour session', the young teacher taught his younger new student until Jakotsu finally had to return to his hut, promising to meet with Taro as often as he could.

((NOTE): This seemed like a good stopping place, but I'm bored and in a good mood so I'll give you a little more:).)

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The day after the boys had first been properly introduced, Jakotsu followed General Raidon to the first years and had no problem adjusting to the new environment. In fact, except for the general still being around, he felt more at ease with the more experienced group.

He was also able to see Taro more often and have lessons with him more frequently.

Throughout the year, Jakotsu and Taro became inseparable during the times they were together, and both held up their ends of the deal. Jakotsu would teach Taro, who was an extremely skilled and fast learner, as much as he could some days, and other days, Taro would sneak Jakotsu into different areas nearby or sometimes the kitchens.

Jakotsu's (and Taro's) favorite place, was a small area behind the kitchens that was like a small forest. This was where Taro would take often Jakotsu for their lessons.

They did their best to make sure the general didn't find out, but it was getting difficult to do. Sometimes the general would keep Jakotsu long past practice hours just to have a spar or two with him, in which he would show Jakotsu hardly any mercy. He made sure to never seriously hurt him, but he would occasionally make Jakotsu bleed.

It didn't really matter since Jakotsu would fight back, showing even less mercy, but he would usually end up using his mother's backflip maneuver, mainly because he knew the general enjoyed seeing it and that was where he would end their battles.

These battles were okay, but not as fun as the ones Jakotsu would fight with his new companion.

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(NOTE): I guess some of you are thinking:_ Taro? I thought it was Bankotsu_! Just wait and see (and review please :)! 


	8. Discovery

(NOTE): Glad you guys liked the last chapter!

**orangepencils: **You are the most amusing reviewer ever! (In a good way ;))

**Ididntdoit07: "**I'm only bothered by the fact that Miroku and Sango havent said I love you at all in the series yet" AMEN!

**dontmesswithyami: "**update asap or as often as your bordoem will let u!" Har har har...yeah alright :).

**lyn: "**I'm too lazy to log in." You lazy ass! (Hehe just kiddin :P)

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The year was just finishing up and Jakotsu was looking forward to becoming a second year trainee, mainly to get away from General Raidon. For one thing, the "private sparring sessions" with the general were become too frequent, so he didn't have as much time as he'd like to spend with Taro. The general was also beginning to freak Jakotsu out...more than usual. 

The general would always come up with reasons to keep Jakotsu near, whether it was using him as example in front of the other trainees or find reasons that Jakotsu was slacking off so he could keep him overtime. The "strange adoration" in his eyes that started out as a faint glimmer would become a raging fire when Jakotsu would fight him, and it would actually show in the general's face whenever he would cut the young student.

But there was one occurrence that Jakotsu was determined to forget.

He and the general had been fighting during one of the lessons when the general, ironically by accident, had become too excited and sliced Jakotsu straight across his belly. Jakotsu gasped as he dropped his sword and hunched over on the ground, clutching at his wound, more out of surprise than pain.

He was immediately pushed fully onto the ground, so that his back was on the hard earth, and he watched as the general tore Jakotsu's own hands away from his stomach and rip open his training outfit, so that everything from the waist up was exposed.

"GET ONE OF THE PHYSICIANS!" he heard the general shout to one of the other students as he put his hand on Jakotsu's belly, just under where the wound was. The general sighed when he saw the cut wasn't that bad, but he didn't stop looking at Jakotsu's exposed torso.

In fact Jakotsu could see that the general was looking at more then just his wound. He could see and feel the generals eyes roaming all over the naked flesh, and Jakotsu could feel extreme heat rising his cheeks. The fingers underneath his wound began to move slowly, outlining the bottom of the cut so gently that it tickled, but it made Jakotsu only feel nervous. The feeling grew as he saw the general lick his lips.

He held back a sigh of relief as the general himself was pushed away and a doctor took his place. The physician looked over his injury and said that it wasn't very serious at all, merely a tiny bit more than a flesh wound, so he was quickly patched up and sent to get another outfit. He avoided the general's eye when he returned and the lesson went on as normal.

He hadn't known, however, that Taro had witnessed the whole incident. He had found out that afternoon, though, when he and Taro were resting after one of their lessons. That was the only part of the day he really didn't want to forget.

"That cut doing okay?" Taro had said abruptly as he continued to look straight at the ground. Jakotsu had looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, it's fine. So you heard about what happened huh?"

"More than that. I_ saw _it happen. You may not know this, but you looked scared to death when the general touched you." Taro had picked a small twig off the ground and began chewing on the end "Can't really blame you though. _General _Raidon is the only son of a bitch in this place that actually creeps me out. And believe me," he turned to look at Jakotsu "if you knew some of the other creeps around here, that's really saying something."

Taro had said "General" with so much sarcasm that Jakotsu had had to ask why.

"Because he's not really a general." Taro had answered, shrugging "If he was in the army, he'd probably be more of a captain. When the guys in the army come here as teachers though, they pretty much reach the same position as general. So I guess they're just called that as a perk." Jakotsu had nodded, understanding, and Taro just stared back at the ground.

Jakotsu had just stared at him after that, focusing mainly on his hair. It had grown so fast over the past couple of months that is was considerably longer than it had been at their first meeting. It was now as long as Jakotsu's own hair, reaching just in between his shoulderblades. Jakotsu took care to cut his hair when it was needed, because it was so thick that if it wasn't cut to a certain length, Jakotsu would get headaches from the unnecessary weight. But Taro hardly ever seemed to cut his. Then again, his hair _was_ thinner than Jakotsu's. But still...

"Hey Taro, do you like having long hair?" It sounded like a weird question, but neither Jakotsu nor Taro cared.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing. It's just that when I first saw you, your hair was only up to your ears. How come you cut it then and not now?" Taro took the twig out of his mouth and snapped it in half.

"Because I didn't cut it. Raidon did. You remember I told you that I tried to run away once? It was about two or three years ago and my hair was nearly down to my knees then. When I was caught, I was given a few lashes, not much since I was only ten, but to get to my back, the general had to cut my hair. But he purposely went a little overboard and shaved nearly my entire head. I guess he noticed how much it bothered me, so he kept cutting my hair every time he would 'catch' me doing something wrong." Taro had had a grim look on his face when he had said this, but it had turned into a small smile when he looked back at Jakotsu. "But he's seemed to lighten up a little after you arrived, so my hair hasn't been cut for months. I suppose I should be thanking you. So...thanks."

Jakotsu had just smiled a 'your welcome'.

"Now, let me ask _you_ something." Taro had said "How did you get those scars on your face?" Jakotsu had frowned slightly at the question.

"I'm not really sure. My mother had once told me that my nurse Akane had given them to me, but I don't know if that's really true. I do know that I must have been just a baby though, because I've had them for as long as I could remember. But that's about it." Taro stared at him for a while.

"You had a nurse?" Jakotsu shrugged.

"Uh huh, why?"

"Nothing. I just never would have guessed you'd have a nurse." Taro then had turned back to staring at the ground, probably in thought, and didn't say anything else after that. Jakotsu had grinned, grateful that Taro didn't ask him anymore questions that he wouldn't be able to answer, and that had pretty much ended the conversation..

That had been about a month ago and the new year had finally arrived. So by now, it was only a day away until Jakotsu would be moved to second year and get away from General Raidon. Unfortunately, that hope had been dashed after the usual sparring session with the general (which he had so hoped to be his last). Jakotsu had just bowed to the general and turned to walk away when he felt a firm, rough hand on his shoulder.

Jakotsu had stiffened, knowing it was the general, and held his breath as he felt the general's hot breath on his ear.

"You think you're going to join the others when they go to their second year class tomorrow?" he said softly "I think you've forgotten that you started the year as a Newbie. So you're still a first year for the next few months until I decide you're ready to join the others. So.." Jakotsu felt the hand on his shoulder slide down his arm and he clenched his fist as he felt the general's hand grip his upper arm tightly...possively. "I expect to see you tomorrow, Serpent." Jakotsu couldn't help but shudder as he felt the general's lips brush lightly over his ear and nuzzle his large nose in his hair.

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Jakotsu walked as calmly as he could to where he and Taro would meet for practice, but he couldn't help but rub at the ear where only a few moments ago he had felt the general...ugh, he didn't want to think about. In all honesty, he was confused. The general was different than when he had first met him. He had seemed like a guy who would push around people and make fun of them, but Jakotsu hardly saw the general talk to anyone other than himself anymore.

It was ironic, but he preferred that general. This one scared. He was sick at being freaked out by the general, but there was currently nothing he could do.

_/Sigh/ I guess I might as well bear it._

He finally let go of his ear as he slipped into the kitchens and exited out the back. If the general was going to act like this...fine. No use in complaining about it. He stepped out into the small claering before the tiny forest and breathed in the fresh air, as if to finalize his decision of suffering in silence.

He looked around, but Taro was no where to be seen.

_Oh well _Jakotsu though as he sat on the ground, laying his sword beside him _He'll turn up eventually_. He picked a blade of grass and chewed at it patiently as he waited. He finally felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Taro...looking extremely excited.

"Hey Taro what...?"

"Come with me! Hurry!" Taro grabbed Jakotsu's wrist, pulled him from the ground, and began to lead him further into the forest.

"Taro! My sword...!"

"Will still be there when we get back." Taro finished, still pulling Jakotsu along "Now shut up and hurry up!" Taro and Jakotsu finally reached the back wall and Taro turned right and followed the wall down a little ways until they came out of the trees and into a large group of big huts that looked like a small village that was, at the moment, void of people.

Jakotsu was shocked to see how different this area was. The ground was torn up so that the dirt was dark brown and he could see that some huts, that didn't have door curatins, were filled with jars and baskets strange herbs and liquids. There was a shallow pit in the center of thearea that looked like it was used for fires and he could see skulls stuck on stakes and candles and torches scattered around the grounds. He also noticed that the gate wall stopped at a rock structure that was actually the base of a small mountain.

Funny. He had never noticed that they were so near mountains. It was...interesting.

He stopped looking around as he heard a great roar that startled him out of his thoughts.

He didn't have time to even think about what had caused it as Taro shoved him to a tree and told him to climb up. He did as he was told and climbed up a litttle ways before he stopped on a sturdy limb. Taro soon followed after and sat beside him, as the branch was long enough for both of them. Taro pulled back the leaves and looked excitedly back out at the empty area.

"Taro what on earth...?"

"Shhh!" Taro pointed to a certain place near the gate wall at the other end of the village. Jakotsu followed his finger and noticed that there was a gate at the wall that was beginning to open. Jakotsu heard shouts and voices coming closerand watched as the gate fully opened. What he saw made his mouth hang open.

There were many men surrounding and holding onto ropes that were attached to a large, human-like figure. Jakotsu thought it must be a demon as it was as large...maybe larger...than a tree and even thicker than one too. He was wearing only a large fundoshi, so Jakotsu could see that his dark skin was scarred and bulging with enormous muscles.

The giant's short, wild hair flung about as he roared and tried to fight the other men off, but the men were holding on tightly to the ropes and pulling him into the village. He felt Taro grab his arm.

"Look! That's Lord Takehiko." Jakotsu looked behind the ankel of the giant and saw a well-built, well-dressed older man come up from the back followed by a thin man who Jakotsu recognized as Yori. Jakotsu couldn't see the daimyo's features verywell, since he was too far away, but he could tell he was smirking as he walked toward the front of the giant, Yori following faithfully behind him.

"Listen Beast!" the lord said in a loud voice, impressive for an older guy "You have been brought here, to my palace, because..."

"My name" the giant said, glarring daggers at the daimyo "is Jiro you bastard!" Although Jakotsu could see Yori was cowering (_Heh heh. Cowered._) the daimyo looked unfazed.

"Because you have been terrorizing the province for many years and eating many of my subjects."

"Only two years." Jiro said, still strruggling against the cords "I'd just finally had enough of your annoying subjects bitching to my about my size! Going around and calling me a demon when you know I'm as human as any of them!"

_Human! _Jakotsu looked over at Taro and was shocked to see Taro wasn't as surprised as he was. He turned back to the sight before him as he heard the giant, Jiro, continue.

"Besides, I know you just want me as one of your 'special forces'. That's why I'm even like this in the first place, isn't it! You just needed a reason to 'arrest' me so that you can retain your 'Oh so kind' image for your people! Heh, it makes me sick!"

"That may be so." Takehiko shot back "But there is nothing you can do about it either way. Now, answer! Will you serve me?"

"HAH!" Jiro laughed "Serve you! I'll crush your bones and eat you as an appetizer before I eat the rest of your pathetic "subjects"!" Jakotsu watched in awe as the large human tugged on his bindings and was able to lift some of the men into the air. He threw his arms to the side and knocked some of the men against the wall, smashing them and killing them instantly. The men began to shout and grabbed more ropes, trying to toss them around the giant form and restrain him again.

Lord Takehiko just let out an exasperated sigh and held up a hand toward the giant. Jakotsu saw him mumble a few words and suddenly saw flames shoot from the daimyo's hand and into Jiro's face. The giant human roarded in pain and the men were finally able to hoist more ropes over him and pull him closer to the ground, onto his knees.

"Take him away and lock him up until he changes his mind. And clean up that mess on the wall." Takehiko said as he made his way out of the area, Yori following behind. The men pulled Jiro completely to the ground and dragged him into a large cave that was at the side of the base of the mountian. Jakotsu felt Taro hit his shoulder as he watched and heard the gate slam shut.

"Come on." Taro said as he began to climb down. Jakotsu silently followed Taro down the tree and took one last look at the men pulling Jiro into the cave before he followed Taro into one of the smaller huts. Taro was hiding in corner, but looking into the center of the room. Jakotu followed his companion's example and saw that in the middle of the room, there was an enormous sword on a stand surrounded by many oil candles. The sword, a halberd, looked so heavy that it would need three men to carry it.

" Isn't it beautiful?" Taro said "I've already named it. Banryu. Nice huh?"

"Uh..sure. Is..is that yours?" Taro shook his head.

"Not yet. But it will be someday. Once Takehiko finds the right spell."

"Spell?"

"Yeah. Takehiko is interested in dark magic. Thats what you just saw."

_Saw? He doesn't mean..._

"Wait. You mean he created that fire using _magic_?"

"Yep. Old, dark magic. He made Jiro a giant that way, too. About two years ago, Takehiko tried an enlargement spell on one of the gaurds, Jiro, to make him a giant. It worked, but Jiro freaked out, or maybe his ego just grew, and he escaped. I'm guessing that he's gotten teased about his size and has been living on eating people these past couple of years."

"Eww. I can see why killing people is fun but _eating_ them? Blah! So, how did you find out about all this?"

"I stumbled on this place a few years ago. I learned what the daimyo was up to and I discovered Banryu. Takehiko wants to place a spell on Banryu to give both it and himself more power. If this spell works, he'll be able to pick up Banryu with a single hand. He'll be unstoppable." Taro began to get a crazed yet adoring look as he gazed at the large halberd.

"And...you want it instead?" Jakotsu said. Taro nodded.

"I come here once a night every month to watch Takehiko try to perform the spell and he hasn't succeeded yet. But when he does, I'll be here and ready for him. And some way...I'll make Banryu mine."

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(NOTE): I know it's not much, but this chapter was actually hard to write. Just tell me what you guys think and I'll post more as soon as I can! 

P.S.: I'm not sure if it was spelt Banryu or Banryuu. Could someone help me out with that please :)?

BTW: A fundoshi is kinda like a lioncloth if you didn't know :).


	9. Patient Urges

(NOTE): Okay, I know I haven't posted in weeks, but I've been in NC for the past few days and I'm going on another trip this weekend, plus I _might_ be starting another fic soon. So, I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't make any promises. Thanx for being so patient )and helping me with the spelling)!

* * *

After a few months, both Jakotsu and the 'newbie' general were getting completely fed up with Raidon. Many times, the general of the newbie students had requested for Jakotsu to join the second year sessions, but Raidon would continually find reasons to keep Jakotsu in his own class. Jakotsu knew this because of a conversation he had heard between them. 

He had been on his way to the weekly bath (which was a different day than the one he had first had when he was still a newbie) when he heard the General talking to a familiar voice.

"I don't care what you say or what you've heard!" Raidon was saying, almost shouting "I've been a teacher for longer than you have, so I should know what's best for MY students!"

"I've known ya scince I wassa newbie, Raidon, don't ya faget it! So I know how long ya keep ya students, an' ya keepin Jakotsu longa than any I've eva known ya ta keep!" Jakotsu knew that voice! It was the first person he had met at this place! What was his name?

"I'm aware of that Daichi," _Yeah that's it! _"but, Jakotsu is another case. He's..."

"A pretty boy?" Daichi said "Don't try ta deny it, Raidon.We all know ya've takin more than a professiona likin ta the kid, but ya gotta rememba, he's not hea for ya sick plea..."

"I'm aware of that!" Raidon repeated, more loudly this time "And how dare you speak to me like that! You may be a general now, but I am still your elder." Raidon then gave a cruel chuckle "Of course how a fat idiot like you ever got to be a general, even if it is of the newbies, is beyond me!"

"That's not the point!" Daichi said, clearly offended.

" I know what your point is. But why should you care?" Raidon's voice became suspicious "Do you harbor...special feelings for the boy?"

"I wassa first guy ta talk ta him when he came hea, and I tooka friendly liking ta him!"

"Ah, that's where you're wrong_. I _was the first one to talk to him, and it is I who has known him longer than you! If the general of the second years has a problem with me keeping Jakotsu, he can talk to me himself!" Raidon left after that, leaving an annoyed Daichi behind.

Jakotsu just sighed and continued on his way after that.

More months went by and still Raidon refused to let Jakotsu into the second year, even after Jakotsu had turned seventeen. By then, even Taro was annoyed.

"Just who..the hell...does...Raidon...think...he is?" Taro gasped as he and Jakotsu sparred.

"What?" Jakotsu asked, purposely knocking Taro off his feet and onto the ground so he could talk to his student "What did you say?" Taro rubbed his sore backside before he answered.

"He's not only preventing you from learning, but me too! I'm sick of doing the same things over and over again! Or are you just doing that on purpose and keeping the good stuff to yourself?" Taro snapped.

"No," Jakotsu said, unfazed by Taro's tone "I'm teaching you all I know."

"Well, I've had it!" Taro stood up "I want to learn more than first year stuff! I'm almost thirteen and I've been learning since I was eleven! I want to do something new dammit!" Taro threw his sword to the ground in fury.

"Taro," Jakotsu said putting a hand on the frustrated boy's shoulder "I think you need to cool off. Do the servants ever take baths?"

"In the mornings" Taro said, calming down "before everyone wakes up."

"Well, first years take it tonight. I don't bathe with the others, though, I have my own place. Kinda." Taro raised an eyebrow.

"A gift from Raidon?"

"No, I just found it. Anyway, you want to come?"

"I don't think I'd be allowed to, do you?"

"Uh...probably not."

"Good, then sure I'll come."

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It wasn't hard to sneak Taro to the river, and afterward, to the small pool Jakotsu had found the first day.

"You really have a lot of guts, you know." Taro said, slipping out of his clothes "More than I thought, I mean."

"Huh?" Jakotsu said. Taro looked up at his companion.

"You mean you didn't know you were bathing in another area?"

"I was...er am?"

"Eh never mind." Taro said, sliding into the cool water "If you haven't gotten caught yet, I don't see why you'd be caught now. Besides, you know what they say: Ignorance is bliss. And this is pure bliss. Ah, this sure beats splashing in a shallow river with a bunch old, filthy guys." Jakotsu nodded his agreement and slid into the pool, across from his...

Jakotsu was afraid to call him a friend, remembering his mothers warnings about them. But, if he couldn't be a friend, and if he was more than a student or a companion, then maybe he could be a...

"Brother?" Jakotsu said. Taro turned to look at him.

"Huh?"

"Is it okay if I call you that? I mean, I've known you longer than I've known anyone who I've liked besides my mother, and...I don't know...I just feel like you're a brother to me. So..is that okay?"

Taro looked at Jakotsu a while. He then shrugged and put his hands behind his head as he leaned against a boulder and closed his eyes.

"Whatever." Jakotsu smiled and followed his brother's example.

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The fourteen-yea-old girl's breath caught as she saw not one, but two boys bathing in her pool. She was used to seeing the lovely pale boy, but she was extremely interested in the handsome tan one as well.

For months she had periodically watched the tall, fair boy who had mesmerized her from the start, always patiently, yet impatiently, waiting for the time when she could claim him. She also knew his name. Jakotsu. It was a strange name but it somehow fitted him.

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She had gone to the trainee came with a small group of her attendants and watched as her favorite trainee practiced. She had walked up to where his general teacher was standing and, turning on her feminine charm, had said "That boy over there, he's very interesting, isn't he?"

The general had a proud grin on his face as he came up from his bow. "He's one of my best, Lady Tamika."

"What's his name?" she asked, still watching him.

"Jakotsu, Milady." Tamika put a finger under her lips, as if she was thinking.

"Is he new?"

"He was, Milady, but he showed such talent that I immediately moved him up to the...first year." The general noticed her staring at the boy and thoughts of her reputation of being a...extremely friendly girl flashed through his head. "But he likes other men." Tamika looked up at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I've often seen him staring at the other boys, and even sometimes flirt with them." It wasn't a complete lie, it was just that every time Jakotsu would try to talk, or maybe flirt, with another guy, the general would intervene.

Tamika raised her eyebrow, clearly not believing the general.

"Right." she said, turning back "Has he ever...enjoyed anyone's company before. Intimately I mean." The general shook his head.

"Not that I know of, Milady." Tamika smiled.

"I see. Well, just see that he doesn't. I've heard of diseases being spread that way, and we wouldn't want one of our best fighters catching something. Thank you and farewell, General." She didn't see the jealous, nearly murderous, glare the general was giving her as she left the training ground, shooting the young boy one more look before he was out of sight.

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That had been only a few days before her fourteenth birthday. She had decided to wait until she was at least almost fifteen until she would...spend time with Jakotsu. Although, she herself wasn't exactly a virgin. Well, actually she wasn't at all.

She had been with other boys before, all desirable in their own way, but not like him. With Jakotsu, it was different. She not only wanted to be his first, she wanted to be his only.

She wanted him to want her.

But still, she wouldn't say no to a night with that gorgeous dark boy. In fact instead, she would make it happen. He wasn't Jakotsu, but he was just too handsome to pass up. She just needed to find out his name.

She waited as the two boys relaxed, almost holding her breath the entire time. After what seemed like hours, Jakotsu stood up and said to the other boy, "We should get going, Taro."

She held back a triumphant cry as she slowly backed away from the trees that hid her from the two, unsuspecting boys sight. Now, she knew both of their names.

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The next day after classes, the general ordered Jakotsu to see him in his tent at the side of the training ground. Jakotsu tried not to be nervous about what the general wanted, but he couldn't deny that he was.

Nervous and annoyed.

A new student had arrived form the newbies and Jakotsu had been looking forward to talking to him, or fighting with him. The guy, Masuyo, had been moved up early just like Jakotsu had been, only Daichi had sent him because he actually did think he had talent.

And he showed it in his arrogance.

Masuyo had come strutting into the area like he owned the place and the other guys swarmed around him like a group of giggling girls as they watched him fight and beat his partner.

One of these guys was Jakotsu, who was in absolute awe of how beautiful the man was, with his mass of dark hair and startling green eyes that flashed with flecks of gold. Jakotsu felt the greatest urge to grab his own sword and slash at Masuyo's dark flesh to see if his blood was as beautiful as he was.

The general, however, loathed him.

He made sure that Masuyo and Jakotsu stayed apart, which disappointed Jakotu immensely.

He ordered everyone to stay put after class was over and told Jakotsu to meet him in his tent. Jakotsu gave one last look at Masuyo, who was bragging to the other guys, as he made his way into the tent...

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(NOTE): Cliffhanger! I know, I know, I'm a bitch, but so's life. I had to type this chapter twice since the first draft got deleted. But you'll find out what happens, don't worry! I have every intention off continuing! 

P.S. I bet you all really hate Tamika, huh:P


	10. Possession

(NOTE): Hello! (sigh) I'm back and only a while till school. (shudders) NE way, I really hated how I worded the end of that last chapter. Ah well :).

Just so you know, this contains a bit of violence, but I don't think ne thing to really worry about if you actually notice much violence there is on the show.

* * *

Jakotsu groaned as he pulled back the flap to the general's tent. 

As he walked inside and leaned his sword against the wall of the tent, he was impressed with how well-furnished the spacious tent was. He could tell that this was where the general often stayed because of the futon pushed to the side and the messed up mass blankets. At the other side of the room, there was a table heaped with papers and writing utensils.

This was where he saw the general, running his eyes over a sheet of parchment.

"So..you wanted to see me, Sir?" Jakotsu said, trying to get his attention. He wanted to get whatever the general wanted over with quickly so he could get back and...introduce himself to Masuyo.

The general looked up and lowered the parchment so that it rested on the table. Jakotsu could tell that he was angry about something and was doing his best to hold it in, but he was confused as to what. All he knew was, he must be screwed.

"Serpent," Jakotsu nearly flinched at hearing the nick name "how exactly do you feel about the other men here...and why do you spend so much time with that boy, Taro?"

"Uh..." Jakotsu didn't really know how to answer the first question. Moreover he didn't even know why Raidon was asking. "You mean, do I feel they're ready for battle or...?"

The general slammed a fist down on the table, startling the young student.

"I mean" Raidon said, in a clearly strained, but controlled, voice "how do you FEEL about them? Do you harbor feelings for any of them? Do you _desire_ any of them?" The general's voice got louder as if he had been struck with a realization "Is that how you feel about that Taro? Is that why you spend quality time with him **_away_** _from anyone else_!"

Jakotsu was stunned, not only about the general's questions, but also that the general had indeed noticed how much time he was spending with Taro.

The general banged his hand against the wood again, this time so hard it knocked most of the papers off. He strode from behind the table and grabbed both of the young man's upper arms in a vice like grip, his face inches away from Jakotsu's."ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" he shouted, making the pained student turn his head away and shut his eyes tightly.

As he looked back, Jakotsu gazed behind Raidon to the papers on the ground, not daring to look at the general's enraged face.

"I feel only...companionship for the others, Sir. And Taro is like a brother to me." he said, trying to stay calm.

"A brother?" the general asked, narrowing his eyes "You're sure? Nothing else?"

Jakotsu nodded and that seemed to make the general relax a little, loosening his grip on Jakotsu's arms, but not releasing it.

"Well, I don't want you conversing with him any longer." Raidon continued.

"Huh? What!"

"That boy is a troublemaker. I caught him trying to sneak out once, and I'm sure that he's been slinking off to places where he shouldn't be. If you're caught with him in one of those places you will be punished severely...or since you're over fifteen, you could damn well be killed as a warning to other _slaves _who risk their asses trying to escape." his grip tightened around his arms again, making Jakotsu wince in pain. "I will not" the general said slowly "let them take you away from me!"

The next the Jakotsu knew, the general's lips had crashed down on his own.

Before he could react or even feel disgusted, Raidon tore his lips away and pulled Jakotsu over to the threshold. He let go of one of the trainee's arms and grabbed Jakotsu's sword and thrust it into Jakotsu's free hand. He then spun the boy around, so that his back was against the general's chest, and took hold of his arms again.

"You know that new boy?" the general said in his ear "That show-off who doesn't seem to know his place. I want you to go out there, my little Serpent, and teach that bastard a lesson. Show him who is really the best. Make him suffer!" With that, the general shoved Jakotsu out of the tent, nearly knocking him off his feet in the process.

Jakotsu was shocked to say the very least, but at least he now knew why the general refused to let him pass to the second years.

He was possessive of him.

Jakotsu shook his head and thought about what the general had told him to do: Teach Masuyo a lesson. And that meant he would get to fight with him!

_Oooo this'll be fun! _he thought.

Jakotsu could hardly contain his excitement as he made his way over to Masuyo, who was still bragging to the other trainees.

He switched the weapon into his right hand, as Raidon had shoved it into his left, pushed his way past the surrounding men, and nicked Masuyo's shoulder, just enough to cut the skin and get his attention. Masuyo turned around angrily, glaring at Jakotsu.

"Hey, Cutie." Jakotsu said, winking "how about stop gloating to these guys about what a hotshot you are and show me what you _really _got!"

Masuyo looked ticked and disgusted.

He shoved the other men out of the way and held his sword up, prepared to fight. Jakotsu looked at the small trail of blood trickling from the handsome opponent's shoulder and he felt the familiar rush of excitement fill his body.

"Ready when you are, Pretty Boy." Masuyo said sarcastically.

"Oh I'm so glad you're so attracted to me as well!" Jakotsu, nearly matching his tone, said as he lunged at Masuyo and began to skillfully attack him.

As they fought, Masuyo proved to be almost every bit as good as he boasted to be, which enticed Jakotsu even more. Finally, after a few minutes, Jakotsu was able to slash at Masuyo's arm, nearly knocking the sword out of his hand. Jakotsu's eyes lit up as he saw more of Masuyo's blood on his sword.

"You're blood is so BEAUTIFUL!" he licked the crimson liquid of his sword egerly "And so tasty! I want to see MORE!" Taking everyone else by surprise, Jakotsu lashed out at Masuyo stronger than they had every seen him before. This time, he didn't even pay attention to exactly how he was attacking Masuyo.

All he knew, all he cared about, was seeing more of the lovely young man's blood.

After about an hour, Masuyo was unable to block every single attack made on him and he was covered with more than a generous amount of cuts and gashes. He looked at his opponent's face and saw a crazed, ecstatic look that made him appear exactly was he was feeling: Consumed with blood lust.

As he began weaken from losing too much blood, Masuyo began to realize he was fighting for not his pride, but his life; panic showed clearly on his face.

"Oh Yes!" Jakotsu cried "Oh you have no idea how your fear is turning me on!" Jakotsu gave one large thrust of his weapon and wacked the sword out of Masuyo's hand, knocking him straight to the ground.

"Please!" Masuyo said, backing away on his hands, trying not to pass out from blood loss "I give up! I promise, I wont gloat anymore! Just leave me alone!"

"Oh, that's it!" Jakotsu raved, stepping closer to the terrified Masuyo "Beg! Cry! Crawl! Plead for your life!"

"I beg you!" Masuyo was on the verge of collapsing "Please have mercy!"

Jakotsu beamed and knelt down near the exhausted, frightened young man. He gripped his hair at the back of his head, pulled the man's head back, and licked a trail of blood off his neck.

"I'm sorry, " Jakotsu whispered, raising his sword for the final blow "but I was never taught that lesson." Just as Jakotsu was about to place the fatal strike, he was suddenly pulled back forcefully onto the ground.

Flung was more like it.

He landed practically on his face as he smacked into the ground. As he lifted himself up, knowing that his forehead was bruised, he was surprised to see the general crouching over Masuyo, a dagger jammed inside the trainee's neck.

He was dead, but not by Jakotsu's hand.

Jakotsu glowered at Raidon enviously, not knowing that that was exactly how the general was glaring at Masuyo's corpse. The general pulled the blood-stained dagger out and stood up, glaring at the agaped crowd.

"Let it be known" he said "that if anyone holds themselves higher than their superiors, they shall meet the same fate! Now get out of here! Guards, clean up this mess!" No man thought twice about what they general commanded as the trainees rushed out of the training ground and two guards carried Masuyo's body away.

Jakotsu pouted as he stood up and dusted himself off. He was about to pick up the sword and follow the others out of the area, when he was grabbed by the general and shoved back into the tent. Raidon threw Jakotsu onto the futon and tore the astonished boy's outfit open.

He then took his dagger and slashed a deep wound into Jakotsu's skin, in the exact same place where he had previously, accidently injured him while sparring.

Jakotsu hissed in pain and shock.

He wanted to wrench himself away and attack Raidon with the rest of his strength, but is mother's words echoed repeatedly in his head: _Always obey your leader. Always obey your leader. Always obey your leader._

So he grinded his teeth togther and lied there, dreading what the general was about to do next. He clenched his eyes shut as he felt the general press a cloth to the wound with one of his hands and trace one of the scars on his face with another.

"Every day I would notice these scars." he said "And every day they had laughed at me, reminding me that you had belonged to someone else. I don't know who that person was, but they are no longer a part of your life anymore." The general gabbed Jakotsu's hair and lifted him into a sitting position.

Jakotsu tried to ignore the pain in his head as he felt the general sit behind him on the futon, one arm reaching around his midriff to hold the cloth in place. His hand let go of Jakotsu's hair and reached around to grip his chin, forcing his head to look at something in front of him.

"Open your eyes." Raidon hissed in Jakotsu's ear. Jakotsu did as he was told and saw himself staring back at him in a mirror at the back of the room that he hadn't noticed before.

Raidon lowered the now scarlet cloth slightly so Jakotsu could see the gash the general had given him, but kept it below the wound to barricade the blood.

"This will surely leave a scar, my precious Serpent." Raidon whispered in his ear "Let that scar always remind you, who you belong to." Jakotsu repressed a shudder as the general pressed his burning lips to his neck. He then felt anger well up inside him as the general's lips made their way down to his shoulders.

This **was not **how it was supposed to be!

The general was supposed to be an attractive victim who pleaded and cried for his life.

_Jakotsu _was supposed to be the one who taunted the worried person, not the other way around!.

Jakotsu felt extreme relief as he heard someone outside call the general. Raidon snarled in annoyance as he hollered back a "What the hell is it!"

"A message from the Lady Tamika, General Raidon!" the voice called back. Raidon growled as he took his hand off Jakotsu's chin.

"Hold that cloth to the wound and lie down so you don't bleed to death." he mutter as he let go of the cloth and got up. Jakotsu, knowing it was best to follow the general's instructions, pressed both hands to the blood soaked cloth and lied back down as the general made his way out of the tent.

He lied there for a while, partly worrying about what Raidon would do when he got back, partly wondering about who "Lady Tamika" was. He looked back to see not Raidon, but one of the old physicians coming into the tent.

"The general told me you had some kind of injury." the old man said, making his way to the futon. Jakotsu nodded and lifted the cloth to the side so the doctor could examine it.

"Where is he now?" Jakotsu asked.

"He had a errand to run. He told me to inspect you injury and see that you return to your hut. Oh my! This is quite a gash! I'm afraid the skin will have to be sewn back together."

_Great _Jakotsu thought as the doctor got out his equipment.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jakotsu ignored the ach in his abdomen as he made his way to the tent. The doctor had seen no need to personally escort Jakotsu back to his tent, but Jakotsu felt too sore and tired to visit Taro now, so he made his way back to his hut anyway.

But he was surprised to see Taro was right near it, chopping a stack of wood.

He put on a smile as he went to greet his brother, but Taro cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" Taro said, not looking at Jakotsu, continuing to chop a log in half with the large axe. "I heard what Raidon made you do. I rushed over and took a look into his tent." _Chop! _"I saw him sucking on your neck. Course that's all I got to see until that messenger almost caught me." _Chop! _"I think that's more than I wanted to see."

Jakotsu shrugged, but somehow, he felt ashamed.

"Well, it's not like I _wanted _him to do it. It's not _my _fault that..."

"Remember what I told you, Jakotsu." _Chop! _"If anything happens to you, it's your own fault." _Chop! _"Besides, I didn't see that much of a fight when he was doing it."

"I couldn't do anything." Jakotsu defended "I'm suppose to always obey my leader." Taro ceased chopping and looked up at his brother.

"You mean you'd do anything for your leader? Even _that_?" Jakotsu nodded.

"I'd have to. I was taught to 'always obey my leader'."

Taro closed his eyes, but his lips held a small smile.

"Listen, Jakotsu, I admire your loyalty." Taro opened his eyes and looked straight at Jakotsu "But that doesn't mean that you can't at least verbally fight back for something you don't want. Or do want. You were taught to 'always obey your leader', but not 'always obey your leader..._without question._"

Jakotsu smiled as he realized what Taro was saying was true.

"I guess you're right." Jakotsu made his way toward the wall of the hut and leaned against it. "Thanks Taro. But you know, wouldn't it be great to have a leader who is more like a part of the army instead of so above it? Someone who respects their soldiers and treats them as equals?"

"But is still a leader when he needs to be?" Taro continued as he begun to chop wood again "And does what he pleases instead of cowering to a daimyo or a samurai like a dog?" _Chop! _"Yeah that would be great. But for me it's not gonna happen" _Chop! _"After I bust outta here I'm going on my own and doing as I please."

"Huh? What do you mean? You plan to escape from here?" Taro nodded.

"That's right. One day soon I'm going to leave this place for good."

"You mean...you didn't want to join the army?"

"Hah!" _Chop! _"I'd _never_ take orders from a samurai. I plan to travel all over and do _I_ want!"

Jakotsu felt disappointed. he had hoped that when it was time for him to gather companions and overpower the daimyo, Taro would be there to help him.

"When do you plan to leave?" Taro didn't seemed to notice the discouraged tone in his brother's voice.

"After I 'receive' Banryuu. Tonight I'd plan to watch Takehiko as he tries to cast the spell. He was so close the last time that if it doesn't work tonight, it will definitely work next month." Taro then got an annoyed expression as he chopped the third to last piece of wood. "But if I can't find a way out of a certain predicament I'm in, I might not be there to watch tonight."

"Predicament? What's wrong, Brother?"

"Raidon came to me today and told me that a Lady Tamika want to 'see' me tonight."

_Chop!_

"Oh right! Who is this 'Tamika'?" Jakotsu asked.

"She's one of Takehiko's spoiled brats." Taro said, placing the log up "And I have a hunch that she wants to 'see' a lot more of me than I'd like her to."

_What! He doesn't mean..._

"Brother, do mean she wants to...?"

"Sleep with me?" Taro finished, gripping the handle of the axe tightly "Exactly."

"Eww!" Jakotsu said. It was enough that Raidon always tried to get him into trouble, but now that Jakotsu knew that Tamika wanted to order, no force, Taro to submit to her, Jakotsu didn't blame Taro for wanting to escape...even if it meant leaving him alone to deal with Raidon. "So, what do you plan to do?" Taro gave an evil smirk as he lifted the axe up.

"Oh I'll make sure she sleeps alright." _Chop! _He slammed the axe down and split the last log in half. "But I can't guarantee...that she'll ever wake up again."

At this, Jakotsu smiled, feeling certain that his student, his brother, could handle himself.


	11. A Bloody Dawn

(NOTE): I know, I know: "Where THE HELL have you BEEN!!!!" One word: Busy. School plays, exams, competitions, auditions, holidays, family reunions, and then there's the lovely 'after event is done' cleaning up that everyone loves :P. Not to mention we had to put our beloved dog down (tears). I miss her, but at least she's with my cat now, they were good friends :).

NE way, lemme give you another chapter before I'm forced back into captivity (coughschoolcough):

* * *

As usual, Jakotsu groggily awoke to the sound of a lound _Clang!_ and groaned as he pushed off the thin blanket and sat up. But it wasn't until he actually noticed more than one _Clang! _was being rung out that his eyes snapped open. 

He could also hear men shouting from all directions and feet quickly scurrying around outside. He looked toward the curtain at the tiny hut's threshold and could see shadows surrounded by what looked like firelight dancing across the dirt ground.

Now wide awake, he didn't even bother to stand as he swiftly pulled the folds of the curtain back and gazed outside.

He had literally woken up in the middle of a brawl.

It wasn't even morning yet, but it hardly mattered since the fires burning from many of the huts illuminated the entire camp. A chorus of battle cries and clashing swords could be heard from every corner of the camp as he stared wide-eyed as the other trainees, many still wearing only their fundoshi/shorts, fought in hand-to-hand combats with men in full uniform.

_Their fighting the guards!!_ Jakotsu realized _It's a revolt!!_

Indeed, it was just that. Fury was written on each man's face as he intensely fought his opponent. Anguished cries broke out as men fell in pools of glowing crimson. Poorly-made swords were smashed against those more expertly made, many of them breaking on contact and sealing their masters' fate.

The unexperienced students fought desperately against the skilled soldiers, but the gaurds could sense their fear and knocked them down almost too easily. Many of the gaurds laughed as they grabbed burning wood from one of the huts and lit another one of fire. In a battle between novice and master, it isn't hard to figure out that the master would win.

Jakotsu didn't care.

Excitement that demanded to be released boiled in his gut and he grinned as he practically lunged out toward a fallen body and grabbed the corpse's sword from his clenched hand. He stood and with a quick, nearly graceful move and a great laugh, he decapitated the first guard he saw.

Some of the gaurds and trainees ceased their fighting and buring as they heard the feminine roar of laughter sound out again as the most expert second year student fought against another guard and sliced him up as well.

This seemed to boost the other students' spirit as they fought back more passionately than ever, letting out their own laughs and jeers at their shocked opponents. The trainees also started setting fire their own huts, leering at the guards' bewildered faces.

Insanity consumed the whole area as more of the soldiers' and trainee's blood was shed. It was clear that Jakotsu had assumed leadership when he led the others out of the second year area and into more territority.

It was full-fleged battle now.

Jakotsu couldn't remember having so much fun since the day he and his mother had conquered the other daimyo's home. And now, this was his chance!! If he could just reach the palace, then he could finally kill Takehiko, end his mission, return to his mother, and achieve his beloved Jakotsutou back!

All he had to do was fight his way to the laundry hut, enter through a passage that Taro had shown him, and...

_Oh gods!! Brother!!!_

Thrill transfigured into concern. He no longer even bothered trying to fight the guards as he pushed his way through the chaos, cutting down only those who got in his way. He knew that Taro was perfectly capable of handling himself, but still, Taro was his brother and he couldn't help but be sure.

He soon reached the huts wear they would receive clothes and food, noticing that the now confident trainees were breaking into the clothes hut and throwing out outfits to the others still only in their nightwear. Jakotsu quickly caught an outfit and slipped it on as he burst into the laundry hut.

After dropping his sword onto the ground, he immediately made his way to a gigantic washing cauldron near the wall, reached inside, and lifted out the bottom. Throwing the metal bottom to the side, he quickly retrieved his sword and grabbed one of the torches off the wall. He then climbed inside the large pot and dropped down into the underground passage he had uncovered, not even bothering to use the steps.

This had been one of the first 'escape passages' Taro had shown him. This underground tunnel really was supposed to lead _from_ the palace kitchens to the trainee camps laundry hut as an emergency escape route for the diamyo, but Taro and Jakotsu found it useful for just sneaking _into_ the castle to grab some more decent food.

Before long, Jakotsu hit the steps that led to his destination. Throwing the torch on the ground, he raced up the steps and pushed up on a round piece of metal on the ceiling and threw it to the side, almost wincing as he heard it bang to the ground. He climbed out of the cauldron he had just removed the bottom from and raced out of the kitchens(1).

He wasn't sure were he was going, but he didn't care. He knew it was ridiculus to attempt but he would nonetheless visit every room in the castle until he found his brother!

But, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

Gaurds should have been swarming the place, and yet he didn't see a single one. What he saw were traces and trails of blood pasted on the walls of the hallway he had just entered.

And not only blood, but bodies.

Some were servants but most were guards. They looked as if they had been easily cut down, as they only had one or two fatal wounds, and some were holding tightly onto women they had tried to protect.

_Pfft. Pathetic._

Jakotsu kicked a body over and examined his cuts.

_Whoever did this doesn't like stabbing, there're no punctures. He also not very tall, the cut is a little no, and nearly none have cut throats. Wait a minute!_

Jakotsu lifted up the carcass's pant leg and saw a large, fresh bruise on his knee. He then uncovered his own kneecap and notice a bruise in nearly the exact same place. He mind went back to a sparring lesson with Taro. His brother had given him a swift kick to the knee that had made Jakotsu nearly fall back onto the ground. If he hadn't 'snake flipped' (as Raidon called it) out of the way, Taro could have easily won that match. All he would need was a swift slit to the gut.

That was exactly how this man was killed.

_This is Taro's doing! _Jakotsu realized _So he must have been able to get away from that wench!_

Jakotsu stood, proud that his brother was able to handle himself after all. An open door then caught his eye. Well, what was left of it anyway, it was closed but it looked like someone had burst, or sliced, through the paper screen.

Jakotsu firgured it was the room Taro must have emerged from or ran off to.

He stepped over the dead gaurd in front (noticing his sword was missing) and tore his way into the room, as the slit was big enough to only fit Taro. He knew instantly that this was the room Taro had first been brought to.

The corpse of a lovely young woman made that obvious.

She was lying face down on a richly furnished futon that was soaked in her own blood. She was clad in a pale blue (now crimson), nearly transparent robe and her raven locks were held up in a twisted bun. The air in the room was filled with soothing scents and candles were lit all around the well furnished room.

He walked over to bed to see if the blankets and pillows were tousled or out of place in excessive any way. They weren't. The sheets were only slightly disheveled from her form falling on them and the pillows were still placed neatly at the head, except for one that had been knocked off from the force of her dead body hitting the mattress.

Jakotsu beamed. It served her right for thinking that his brother would succum to her.

He was turning to leave as he noticed something glint through the woman's dark tresses. He reached over and shifted some of her locks out of the way. What he discovered made him gasp!

_My pin!_

He snatched the colored metal out of her hair and held it up to see if it was really his. It was! It was the same blue pin with butterfly designs that had belong to one of the first people he had seen killed! That bastard Raidon must have given it to her when he had first arrived.

_A little gift for the Lady? _he had sneered.

_And this wench has had it the entire time! _Jakotsu thought, outraged _Well, if she thinks she can take **my **things...!_

After tucking the pin into a pants' pocket, he thrust the girl onto her back, her hair flying out due to the loss of the pin, and raised the sword above his head! He wanted to cut her up into a thousand shreds and see pain and fear spark in her cold, lifeless eyes! Those dark, blue-rimmed orbs that still seemed to have a faint glimmer of hunger in them.

_Lust for my **brother! **Damn her!_

But as he was about to strike, he stopped. What good would that do? She was already dead, sliced at the belly, there was no way she could ever express any emotion again. Besides, this was Taro's victory. It wasn't his place to mess with his brother's first kill.

_Well, since she stole something of mine...I'll just take something of hers! _

He brought the sword down and searched around the room for something to take. He saw her vanity next to a large wardrobe rushed over to it, searching throught her belongings. He became excited at seing so many beautiful trinkets and jewelry! There were ropes of pearls and diamonds, clusters of earrings and rings, and even one or five gold and silver combs encrusted with jewels!

And there was also make-up!

There were boxes full of different colors. Rouges, azures, verdants, violets, rusts, golds, creams...everything both light and dark. But there were two in particular that caught his eye. One was a blue shadow, the same color that he had seen on her eyelids...almost the same color as Taro's eyes. The other one was a purple shadow that reminded him of the snakeskin amor his mother wore. He picked up the small scallop shells with the chosen colors and shoved them into his pocket with the pin. He decided that he would give them to his mother. He knew he couldn't bring the jewelry, they would be too much of a hassle.

_Mother will like the colors _he concluded _and maybe even..._

He looked at the wardrobe and opened a door.

_Something to wear._

He found the perfect thing. There was a lavender scarf hanging on the door that would go perfectly with the violet make-up and armor. Plus it would be easy to carry. He snatched it from the hook and tied it around his waist. Satisfied, he walked back toward the slain female and smirked in her face.

"Thanks for the gifts. I sure my mother will love them." he sneered.

He turned and strode out of the room, having a hunch of where he would find Taro. Yet as he left, the woman's eyes didn't leave his mind. He couldn't help but feel that her ebony, lust-filled eyes were strangely familiar.

He shrugged.

_Perhaps that's just what **I **look like when I fight..._

_

* * *

_

He was right when he had guessed where his brother would be. 

After leaving the dead girl's room, he had made a beeline back to the kitchens and traveled back to the training camps. The battle and fires around the food and clothes huts had died down and the sun was just starting to rise, but there was still traces of fighting going on a little farther down. Ignoring the biting temptation to join in the fun, he raced to the back of the kitchens, passing some of the servants in brown outfits attending wounded trainees (_I guess they should really be considered soldiers now_) and followed the back wall to the small group of huts Taro had shone him. Sure enough, there were bodies of soldiers, some clad in what looked like outfits for some kind of barbaric ritual, lying dead on the ground.

But only a few were actually cut up.

There were some that looked like they had been burned to death. The ground itself even looked like it had caught on fire. The charred forms fell in a circle around a a blue and white figure.

A person.

A male.

Someone with tan hands and black hair that fell to his shoulder blades...

"Brother?" Jakotsu breathed as stepped over the burnt bodies and walked closer to the shorter male. It must have been a loud breath as the figure turned toward him, hearing the sound. Jakotsu stopped just a few feet away from him, bringing his sword against his shoulder.

His mouth dropped open as he realized that it was, indeed Taro, dressed in an ashen outfit with a thick patch of blue near his neck. he was wearing black-lined, gray pieces of armor that had blue fern-like designs in places. One shoulder guard was on his left shoulder; it was attached to the breastplate by a red ribbon on the front and a metal strap on the back. The breastplate itself wrapped around Taro's chest and fell in a fundoshi style down his white hakama pants. The wide sleeves and legs were stuffed into black material that ran around the ankles and forearms, like shoes and gauntlets. There was also a crimson obi around his waist that was tied into a bow in the front.

As Jakotsu stared at his brother standing there in that magnificent outfit, with the charred bodies lying at his feet, he thought that Taro looked worthy of a shogun.

He was broken out of his thoughts as he saw Taro shoot him a small, smug smile.

"Hey, Jakotsu" he said "Took you long enough. If you hadn't shown up in one second I was just gonna go kill Takehiko myself."

"You mean, he isn't dead?" Jakotsu asked. He had thought, with some despair, that perhaps Takehiko was one of the scorched bodies on the ground.

But Taro shook his head.

"Unfortunately. I burst into the hut just as he was finishing the incantation. I was just able to grab it before Takehiko could get to it." Taro lifted up his right arm. Jakotsu was absolutely stunned when he saw the large sword, the enormous halberd, in Taro's hand!

In his _one _hand!

Taro smirked again and looked lovingly at his new weapon.

"Banryuu is mine at last." he gloated, more to himself than Jakotsu...

* * *

_After Taro escaped from the palace and rallied the other trainees to fight, he hastened quickly to the ritual site, where he knew Tahiko would be trying to perform the spell on **his** Banryuu. He burst into the area, cutting down any men that got in his way with the sword he had snatched from one of the guards back in the palace. Since it was still fairly dark, he could see bight glowing flashes come from a small hut. _

_The hut that contained Banryuu!_

_He quickly raced towards the light and practically tore the flap of the hut off as he enter. The fires from the oil candles surrounding the great halberd were giving off sparks that flew straight into the glowing weapon. He saw Takehiko muttering something under his breath as he inched closer and closer to his prize, his hand outstretched, ready to grasp his prize. _

_Taro was just able to dash in front of the daimyo and close his hand around the hilt._

_As soon as he touched the giant sword, the flames of the candles grew bigger and swirled around around taro and the halberd. But Taro felt no heat or pain. He could see Takehiko's shocked, enraged face through the flames and he smirked._

_Banryuu belonged to **him. **_

_The flames grew larger and larger, and the sparks increased and mulitplied. The other soldiers, the fools dressed in their ritual garb, peeked into the hut to see what was happening, but Takehiko, the smart, rushed out as quickly as he could._

_Then, not ten seconds later, the whole hut burst into flames!_

_Taro could hear the men scream over the roaring fire as tongues of flames and heat consumed them. Bits and pieces of the hut flew apart and the ground around him was burnt black._

_And eventually, the flames died down. He was left there, surrounded by charred, black bodies, and holding his beloved Banryuu at last..._

_

* * *

_

"But Brother!" Jakotsu said, releasing Taro from his memories "You're injured!"

Jakotsu couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before! How could he have possibly missed the blood that was streaming out of a large gash in Taro's forehead. Taro seemed to finally notice, too, as he felt his forehead and stared at the blood he had smeared off. Bringing his hand down, he shrugged and looked at Jakotsu's arms.

"So are you." he said "We'll take care of that later. Right now," he gave a wicked grin and stared at the cave entrance off to the side "we have a daimyo to kill." He then dashed off into the direction of the cave.

Jakotsu blinked and looked at his arms. There was indeed blood running down from cuts in each of his upper arms that he hadn't noticed before.

_Huh. Well wouldn't you know it._

"Hey Jakotsu!" he heard Taro shout back "You comming or not?"

Jakotsu grinned with excitement and followed Taro, his brother...his brother with the magnificent halberd, his _big _brother, towards the cave.

* * *

(NOTE): I was going to stop here, but I'll put a little more as a "Sorry for taking so long" gift :).

* * *

"How do you know he's in the cave, Brother?" Jakotsu questioned, catching up with Taro. 

"It's obvious." Taro answered "He's probably worried that we'll free Jiro and make him an ally. Well he's definitely right about that."

_Oh yeah! That giant!_

"That's smart thinking, Big Brother." Jakotsu commented as he and Taro enter the cave. Taro paused at the threshold and stared at Jakotsu, who stopped right beside him.

"_Big _Brother?" Taro said, looking confused for the first time since Jakotsu had seen him.

Jakotsu grinned and nodded.

"I originally was sent here to train enough so that I could eventually kill the daimyo. I was either to band together my own group of fighters or else join a worthy leader. Well...I don't feel fit to be a leader, at least not of a large group of men, when I have a brother that is younger than who, yet matches me in skill and strength. So" he knelt and placed his sword at Taro's feet "I promise with all of my being," he swore "that I will serve you as my leader and follow you even into hell."

Jakotsu knew that to his mother, this would look ridiculous and shameful. A tall man of seventeen bowing and pledging himself to a thirteen-year-old boy? It was laughable to anyone, but Jakotsu didn't care.

Taro was strong, especially now since he had Banryuu. He was also smart and quick. He loved fighting, and he walked with power. And he was stubborn to the end. In his heart, Jakotsu knew that the student had become the master, and that Taro would make a better leader than him any day.

Taro was flabbergasted, yet at the same time, proud. Here was teacher, a trainee who was supposed to be above his servant position, and he was bowing at his feet and swearing his allegiance to him. taro knew just what to say.

"Fine." he said "Then get up off the ground and follow me...Brother."

With that, Taro continued running into the cave. Jakotsu smiled as he pick himself and his sword up from the ground and followed his Big Brother, his leader, inside.

* * *

(NOTE)/Squeal/ I'm getting excited!!! Next up is the final battle between Takehiko and the founders of the future Band of Seven!!!! 

P.S. I'm sure that most of you guys can pick up on certain special stuff ;) BTW, here's a picture of a scene from this chapter that I drew: http:// www. deviantart. com/ deviation/49185297/ (undo the spaces).

It's kinda incomplete, but I'm still proud of it:). See ya l8ter!!


	12. Mission Ultimatum

(NOTE): Lo! Thanx so much for the reviews!!! Now that we've have a nice week-long break I can write!!

BTW, I'm sorry for so many errors in the writing but I kinda suck in that area :P.

NE way...

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Wooden torches on the cave's walls lit up as the two boys ran further in. Jakotsu didn't even need to be told it was Takehiko's dark magic that made them spark up as they got closer. 

After seeing his Big Brother hold that enormous halberd and still be able to run as swiftly as ever, he was willing to believe anything, even automatic lights.

He turned his head to look at Taro running right next to him. His face was full of determination and excitement, feelings that was exceptionally mutual between the two brothers. Taro looked like the ideal image of leadership, especially in the noble outfit he was clad in.

_I wonder where he got that? _Jakotsu silently questioned _Did it just appear when he achieved Banryuu? I'll have to ask him later. _

Now, however, he had to have his mind on the upcoming fight. That wasn't so hard as he stared back down the path in front of him. The moment he had so long awaited was finally approaching with each quick step he took. Soon, the daimyo would be dead.

Soon, Jakotsutou would be back in his grasp.

But he was forced to stop as he felt a strong hand on his grey uniform pull him back. He calmed the panic the had flared in his stomach when he realized it was Taro, a tan finger pressed against his lips.

"He should be right around this corner." he whispered, putting his hand down and looking to the side. Jakotsu turned his head and noticed that they were at a dead end, the only way to go was down a passage way to the right.

Jakotsu blushed as he realized had been only a second or two away from smashing into the wall.

"Listen," Taro continued "I know you want to be the one to kill Takehiko, but let _me _be the one to fight him, kay? I have a bone to pick with him about a certain _slut _we're both familiar with."

_That bitch _Jakotsu remembered bitterly.

He wanted so badly to the one to make the daimyo struggle, to see the fear and pain carved on his face as he was sliced to bits. But Taro did have more of a right. He had suffered under Takehiko's men longer, and nearly been defiled by his damn daughter.

So, as long as he, himself, killed Takehiko, he would ultimately be satisfied. The sight of life ebbing away from his eyes would be enough.

"You're the leader, Big Brother." Jakotsu said, with a small grin, leaning his sword against the wall "But just hold on a second." Jakotsu untied the scarf from around his waist and wiped of some of the blood streaming from the gash on Taro's forehead "There you go! Just promise to let me get a better look at it afterwards, okay?"

Taro nodded with a grin of his own, lifted the halberd against his shoulder, and strode around the corner to finally meet his foe.

Jakotsu retied the scarf around his waist, making a mental note to wash it later, and picked up his discarded weapon. He then pressed himself against the wall and slowly slide his head past the edge.

Jakotsu hardly dared to even draw a breath as he poked his face past the corner to watch the fight. He saw his brother proudly standing in front of an angry Takehiko, Banryuu gleaming on his shoulder. The daimyo's face was contorted into a seething sneer, his clenched hands were shaking at his sides.

But Takehiko's hands weren't the only thing moving.

Jakotsu noticed an enormous cage behind the daimyo, where inside was a huge mass of...something.

Something that stood up from a sitting position, turned around, and gripped the bars of the cage with two gigantic fists. Jakotsu had to hold in a gasp as he recognized it...er...him.

_Jiro! _

The giant still looked exactly the same: Dirty, wild green hair, crazy black eyes, and brown bulging muscles. The only thing different were the dark burn marks underneath his eyes.

_That's right! Takehiko blew flames into his face! Huh, I guess I'm not the only one with burn scars under his eyes now. _

Yet, that somehow wasn't very comforting.

_(Sigh) Oh well. _

Jakotsu shuddered as he heard the giant give a huge laugh that nearly shook the entire cave. Taro lifted his eyes towards the titan, but the daimyo remained glaring at the smaller figure before him.

"You wanted me to help you defeat this _shrimp!_" Jiro sneered between laughs "Boy, you must be weaker than I thought! You're pathetic!"

"BE SILENT!" Takehiko roared, still with his back to Jiro "I am not afraid of this little pest!" The furious daimyo unsheathed a sword at his side and held it out challengingly toward Taro "You may have my great halberd, Boy, but I doubt you know how to use it! Let's just see how strong you really are!"

Jakotsu was expecting Takehiko to charge at Taro at full blast, but for a while, he simply stood there. Then suddenly a purple and black ribbon of fire started to spiral around his katana, rippling faster and faster with each second. Smoke began to build up around the daimyo's feet as the sword's wielder gave a smug, crazed smile.

Jakotsu was shell shocked; even Jiro seemed surprised at the unexpected sight!

Taro looked unaffected, although he truly was amazed at the immense power.

Jakotsu could feel the energy and heat leaking from the sword now completely engulfed in dark flames. Then in a flash, Takehiko leapt toward Taro and brought the sword down with a great cry!

A great light filled every crevice of the cave and Jakotsu had to shut his eyes to prevent being blinded! A huge hot gust of power came ripping like wind, knocking Jakotsu off his feet and into the wall behind him! He fell in a heap on the ground, the breathed completely knocked out of him, and tried to breath as he felt the heat and energy reside.

Squinting his eyes open to see if the light had died down, he shakily rose to his feet using the back wall as a support. As he took in short gasps to get his breath back, he returned to the edge of rock to see what had happened.

His eyes widened as he saw Taro, in a defensive stance, with his halberd protectively in front of him like a shield, straining to hold back Takehiko's blade.

Jakotsu silently cheered at Taro's achievement!

Takehiko looked astounded at the smaller boy. Here was a small _child _blocking the attack of a full grown _adult! _The daimyo's katana, now a usual silver, made sparks against Banryuu's unscathed metal.

Taro, though struggling to hold back Takehiko's weapon, was grinning smugly at the daimyo's expression.

"Pretty impressive for a little pest, huh?" Taro sneered, his voice tense. He gathered up all of his strength and pushed Takehiko off him, making a slash for his opponent as soon as he was projected away. Takehiko was able to dodge and flash back to the cage.

"Now you see!" Takehiko seethed at Jiro "It's his sword! THAT is the problem!" Jiro was too dumbfounded to say anything. He just stared at Taro with wide eyes as he made another advance at Takehiko.

Again, the daimyo was able to dodge the attack and make a few slashes of his own.

Jakotsu and Jiro watched as the battle continued on, advance after advance, defense after defense. Even without a huge halberd, Takehiko was a strong warrior, always dodging at an advance, and advancing straight after a dodge. He even used bits of dark magic once or twice, but only shooting flames, as Taro was giving him no time to even begin any other type of spell.

Taro looked as if he was having a difficult time keep up with Takehiko in his movements, but his face displayed firm determination. Yet Jakotsu began to worry as he saw Taro slow down bit by tiny bit. He noticed the gash on Taro's head was bleeding more freely now, and his long hair was sticking to the blood and sweat on his face.

Takehiko was noticing it too.

He knew if he could just keep this defiant boy constantly moving, he would pass out from either exhaustion or blood loss. The daimyo himself might have been old, in his fifties in fact, but the spell he had placed on his katana not only created a powerful attack, but made him fight with the strength and energy of two men of twenty-five. A large disadvantage for his opponent...his victim.

"Brother..." Jakotsu said, quietly, worry etched in his voice "Come on!"

But it didn't look like Taro's strength would hold out much longer. He had no magic spell helping _him _out. He had been rash. He still didn't know Banryuu's true power, and with the way Takehiko was slicing at him, he didn't have the time to figure it out. By now, he had slowed up so much, that Takehiko was beginning to build up power in his katana again. Jakotsu could see tiny tongues of purple begin to flare out from the blade.

Taro was in trouble and needed help.

Jakotsu gripped the sword tightly and was just about to charge in, when he heard a loud shriek from the diamyo. He had backed himself to close to the cage that contain Jiro and his head was now clenched between two of the giant's large fingers. Takehiko lifted his hand and burned the digits with his magic fire, forcing Jiro to release him.

But that was enough time for Taro to get close enough.

Close enough to swing his Banryuu and cut Takehiko's legs out from under him! With a loud cry of agony that seemed even louder than Jiro's laugh, the mighty daimyo magician fell to the ground on what was left of his lower body! Taro quickly wasted no time in slicing the hand that held the katana off next and placing the tip of his halberd at the throat of his foe.

Jakotsu didn't know whether to sigh with relief or cheer with elation!

This battle was over, and the victory was Taro's!

The daimyo grabbed the wrist of his bloody stump and stared daggers at Taro. The younger boy was panting heavily, blood and hair stuck to his face, but his eyes showed triumph!

And no mercy.

"Jakotsu!" Taro barked.

"Uh...y-yes, Big Brother?" Jakotsu said, startled.

"I believe I told you that the pleasure of killing him was yours." Taro said, bringing his weapon down slowly "I've had my fun, now come have yours."

Jakotsu smiled as he walked over to the fallen daimyo and his brother. Takehiko turned his eyes to Jakotsu and raised an eyebrow.

"This is insulting." Takehiko muttered "Killed by that fool Raidon's personal pet?"

The Daimyo Magician, Takehiko, was dead only a nanosecond after that comment.

Jakotsu hadn't even bothered to take the time slashing at him. One quick swipe, and the daimyo's head fell from Takehiko's neck and smashed to the stony ground at Jakotsu's feet.

Even after the daimyo's death, Jakotsu could still feel the anger and disgust at being called the pet of that creep. He couldn't even relish at the thought that he had completed his mission at last.

"Bastard." Jakotsu whispered at the headless corpse.

"I'll say!" a deep voice said above him "Damn good that you got rid of him! My name's Jiro by the way." Jakotsu and Taro looked up at the face of the titan behind the bars. "Guess your pretty impressed by my great size, huh?" Jiro looked smug.

Taro merely shrugged.

"Not really. We've seen you before. An effect of one of Takehiko's spells, right?"

Jiro nodded.

"Yeh. Made me bigger and tried to force me to work for him but I..."

"Escaped and was recaptured, yeah we know." Taro said.

The anger and repulsion Jakotsu had been feeling melted away as he heard exhaustion in his brother's voice. He grabbed Taro's chin and forced his face to look at him.

"Brother, your face is covered in blood, that gash needs to be mended!" Jakotsu grabbed Taro's arm and urged him to the exit. The fact that Taro didn't try to resist proved that he was weak. "Come on, maybe the physician is still around, he can help!"

"HEY!" Jiro shouted, holding a hand through the bars "What about me? If it weren't for me, that kid would've be on his knees! I bought him time and THIS is how you plan to repay me? You're gonna leave me HERE!"

"Oh, shut up!" Jakotsu screamed at him, too worried about his leader to care "Why don't you just bust yourself out of there!"

"Don't you think I tried that! Listen, you little freak, if I ever _do _get out of here, you gonna be the first one I..."

_Swish! Clang! Plop!_

Taro had become fed up with the whining and hollering and swung Banryuu at the lock, breaking it at once. That seemed to be his last ounce of strength as he collapsed, just barely being caught by Jakotsu.

"Your out." Taro said, trying give his voice the firmness that his body lacked "Now go and do what you damn want."

Jakotsu didn't even wait to hear Jiro's answer before he lifted his brother up, bridal style, and dashed out of the cave, leaving a stunned but pleased Jiro behind.

As the goliath pushed his way out of the cage, he stared at the retreating figures, silently vowing to see them again one day, perhaps to challenge that exceptionally strong young man to a fight.

He stopped and looked down at the bleeding body of the daimyo and grinned evilly. He reached down and picked up the corpse, giving it a quick sniff. He threw it up in the air and caught it in his giant mouth, grinning with satisfaction as he crushed the bones beneath his teeth and blood oozed out of his mouth.

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(NOTE): Whoo...I had a tough time with this one, I wanted it to be good. Tell me what you thought! Everybody loves reviews ;)!!!!! 


	13. Satisfaction and Desires

(NOTE): Only a few reviews :(? Ah well, I love this story anyway (although I update slowly, but yay for summer!) and I might as well try to finish what I started ;).

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"Listen, Old Man," Jakotsu snapped, clenching a fist threateningly in front of him at the elderly physician hunched over Taro's unconscious form "if he dies, I swear that I'll...!" 

"Now, now," the doctor turned around with a soothing smile, motioning with his hands for the angry young man to clam down "I'm doing the best I can. Don't you trust me? I _was _the one who patched _you_ up after all, wasn't I?"

Jakotsu just grunted, trying to control his anxiety, and crossed his arms impatiently.

"Whatever, just do a good job or else!"

The physician nodded and went back to work on cleaning the gash on his patient's forehead. Jakotsu grimaced as he looked at the injury over the old man's shoulder. It looked deep, probably even deeper than the slash Raidon had given Jakotsu's belly. But the physician had said that Taro had no serious concussion and that he had passed out more from exhaution than actual blood loss.

_That makes sense _Jakotsu had thought, after 'thanking Kami' that his brother would be okay _He's been training so hard, lately. And who knows how much that huge halberd's power had taken out of him. _

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Jakotsu had to carry Taro all the way back to the hut area, where wounded trainee's were receiving the attention of servant medics. The outside was a great deal lighter now and the fighting (and fires) had thankfully calmed down. As soon as Jakotsu had spotted the doctor that had attended him in Raidon's tent, he had rushed over and practically shoved Taro in the old man's face, demanding him to examine his wounded brother.

It wasn't until after he was absolutely sure that Taro was going to be alright that he went back into the cave and dragged Banryuu, which Taro had dropped, back to the huts.

Yes, _dragged. _

It was so heavy that there was no doubt it held great power and would only let it's true master, Taro, carry it easily. Plus, he had decided to bring hid own sword back as well, which made the task even more difficult. As Jakotsu heard Banryuu scrape against the rocky ground and the small katana being held it clang into it's large blade, he silently wished that that goliath, Jiro, would still be in there to help him carry them.

But no, there was no sign of the giant. Instead, there was a large hole in the wall near the cave, making the goliath's exit obvious. He had already made his escape and left to Kami-knows-where to do gods-know-what.

So Jakotsu just grit his teeth and ignored the awed looks he was receiving from the other trainees and medics until he finally reached the hut where Taro was being examined. He had gently leaned Banryuu and his katana against the half-burnt outer wall of the pathetic excuse for a building before he had snapped at the working physician.

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Despite the 'enslaved' men's, and his own, victory against the daimyo and the soldiers, Jakotsu _was not _in a good mood.

He was tired and worried about his comrad, and he had too many questions running through his head: The soldiers had retreated, but to where? What, and who, had started the revolt? How did Taro get those clothes and that big gash in the first place?

What was he supposed to do now?

Out of all that he wanted to ask, though, there were three particular questions he _had _to find out:

1): After he recovered (and Jakotsu was positive he would), would Taro be willing to continue being his leader and travel back home with him to retrieve his own beloved sword?

On one hand, Jakotsu was sure he would agree. After all, they were brothers, right? And had Jakotsu not pledge his allegiance to Taro, the one who had just yesterday agreed with him that leaders should treat their followers as equals?

On the other hand, Taro had also told Jakotsu that he planned to go off on his own after he achieved Banryuu, and that's what worried him. But there was nothing he could do but lean his back against the wall of the hut and wait for Taro to wake up.

2): If Taro did agree to come with him, how would his mother react?

He remembered the conversation he had had with his mother before he left:

_"I'm sending you away for experience, and also so you can gather companions. Not friends, mind you, but men who you shall fight with. And when the time is right, I want you to kill Lord Takehiko."_

_"But...won't he be my leader? You said that I should..."_

_"The general you shall serve under shall be your leader, but the only two ways you can 'disobey' him, is if you overpower him and take over yourself or join another leader. Do you understand, my son?"_

His mother had made it clear that he was allowed to follow another leader, but he suspected that she was more keen on him becoming a leader himself than a follower. Would she still be satisfied with his choice of Taro, a boy at least four years younger than himself, becoming his leader?

And would she accept him as Jakotsu's brother?

She had always been exceedingly strict with him about friends, telling him over and over again that they were useless. Yet, she had never said anything about a _brother_. Did that still count?

Would she pleased with his decisions?

The chances seemed slim, but they were still there, right?

And again, there was nothing Jakotsu could do at the moment but wait.

But the question Jakotsu was most nervous about was 3): **Where is General Raidon?**

Jakotsu doubted that the creepy warrior had been killed; he was, unfortunately, too strong and too skilled to be taken down by mere students.

Had he retreated with the other soldiers? If so, he must have, without a qualm, become the defeated soldiers' leader.

Was he planning another attack on the trainees as they (and Taro) recovered?

The troubled young man shuddered as he remembered the general's malicious, conniving eyes while during one of their sparring sessions. Small, fierce pupils that were sparked with lust everytime they followed Jakotsu's movements, especially when he backflipped out of the way.

Jakotsu could still feel Raidon's burning lips as they traced over the flesh of his neck.

His hot breath on his ear as he whispered his claim on him.

His sharp sword slice through the skin on his stomach...

Jakotsu reached inside his outfit and ran his fingers over sewn flesh on his abdomen.

It was then that he realized how sore it was. In heat of the battle, he had completely forgotten about it. In fact, he was surprised that the wound hadn't reopened. He looked towards the medic who was just finishing sewing up Taro's forehead and gave a tiny smile, feeling more confident about the doctor's abilities.

Grimacing, Jakotsu pressed his fingers harshly on the wound, determined to make the pain cloud his bothered mind away from Raidon and more questions.

"There. All finished!" the doctor said suddenly, packing his things away "Just let him rest for a while and he should be fine. But now..." with surprising speed for an old man, he grabbed Jakotsu's arm before he could reach his brother "I want a look at your arms and that injury you received yesterday."

"Oh, come on, get away from me! I'm fine!" Jakotsu tried to struggle out of the medic's grasp, but he held on with shocking strength.

"Nevertheless, I still want to see them. You at least owe me that much."

Jakotsu pouted as he finally sat down and let the medic look at his arms.

_Fine, as long as I don't have to think anymore._

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Luckily, the wounds on Jakotsu's arms weren't serious ("Oh, BIG SURPRISE, Old Man!"), so he was allowed to stay with his sleeping leader and wait for him to wake up. Amazingly, it didn't take that long at all, as Taro's eyes began to open not five minutes after the madic left to check on his other 'patients.'

"Big Brother! You're awake!"

"No kidding." Taro said dryly as he lifted himself up into a sitting position, his hand rubbing his dark head. He looked at Jakotsu and gave him a small smile. "Good to see you're still alive."

Jakotsu raised an eyebrow in mock annoyance and snorted. "What, you expected me to get killed? Yeah, right. Besides, the battle was over by the time you decided to fall asleep."

"Good," Taro shot back as he stood and stretched "then I didn't miss anything." His eye caught sight of his halberd and he gave a smug grin as he reached out and grasp the hilt. Jakotsu pulled his own self off the ground, knowing it would be useless to even bother trying to tell Taro to rest some more, and smiled as his Big Bother lifted the large sword up with one hand. He watched as Taro gazing proudly at his new halberd, looking at it as if he were praising a worthy companion. It looked like such a happy moment, that Jakotsu was kind of upset that he had to disturb it when he began to speak.

"Big Brother? I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Now that the daimyo is dead and you finally have your powerful sword...will you still continue to be my leader and help me to get my own sword back?"

Jakotsu held his breath as he waited for Taro's answer.

The boy didn't turn around to met Jakotsu's hopeful gaze; he continued to stare at his sword, looking as if he hadn't even heard the question. But Jakotsu had become familiar with the younger boy's expressions, and knew that he was actually thinking. Finally, after a long silence, Taro turned to look at him and grinned.

"Ah, why not? I got nothing better to do."

Jakotsu nearly squealed!

"You mean you'll come?!"

Taro shrugged "Hey, like you said, I'm your leader. As long as I do what I please, I'm content. And besides," his gaze turned back to his halberd "and can practically hear my new companion begging for more fights, and I, myself, am just dying to run Banryuu through some more people!"

Jakotsu chuckled as he heard this. Taro was...different in some way. He no longer seemed like a struggling servant boy desperately fighting for something he yearned for. He was now a strong, confident young man who could to do as he chose.

A deadly warrior ready have his fun.

This new attitude seemed to fit him perfectly. And so did those lovely new clothes.

_Speaking of which..._

"Taro, tell me, what happened last night? How did you escape that wench? How did you get those clothes?"

Taro planted his sword in the ground and sat down, motioning for Jakotsu to do the same.

"It's kinda strange really." Taro said, smirking and closing his eyes "But the one who helped me escape was actually that bastard, Raidon."

If Jakotsu hadn't already been sitting, he surely would have lost his footing when he heard that.

"What!?" he said incredulously "How did he do that?!"

"He handed me a dagger as he led me to that wench's room." Taro opened his eyes "As soon as he left, I killed her and slashed my way out of the palace, killing everyone who got in my way." He said this with so much enjoyment that Jakotsu had to pout.

_Lucky. Big Brother, you have all the fun!_

Taro continued "As soon as I got out of the castle, I ran towards the trainee compound where I saw Raidon again. As I ran passed him, I noticed him attacking the other gaurds, waking up the trainees. He was the one that apparently started the revolt."

Again, Jakotsu could hardly believe his ears! Why would Raidon do something like that? Whatever it was, the young man had a bad feeling about it.

"When I got to the hut where my companion was being held, I killed the gaurds standing outside and entered the hut, making sure to keep out of sight. Takehiko was in the middle of reciting the spell on Banryuu." As Taro said this, he reach out a hand toward his 'companion' and stroked his hand up and down the blade " I waited in the shadows and watched as Banryuu began to glow. Fire began to surround it and it was so bright that most of the gaurds there for the ceremony had to turn their heads. I forced my self to watch as Takehiko kept chanting. He eventually finished and he reached out a hand to grab Banryuu's hilt," Taro's smirk grew wider as his eyes narrowed "but I got there first. You should've seen the look on Takehiko's face when he saw me rush out!

I watch as Takehiko runs out of the hut, and the flames around me get bigger and brighter. The next thing I know, I hear screams of pain and I felt a shock run through the blade and into my head." He rubbed his fingers over the bandage on his forehead "I could _feel_ the connection being made between me and Banryuu, and I barely noticed as my clothes were burned off and replaced with this." He motioned to his outfit "As for the rest, well, I think you already know."

Jakotsu slowly nodded, his mouth was open and his eyes wide. He had sat the entire time like a child enthralled with a magnificent tale, but now that it was over, he regained his composure.

"That was quite a story, Brother, but I still wonder why Raidon decided to...well..._help _you." Taro shrugged as he stood up.

"Ah, who cares. We're leaving anyway so that was the last time I'll ever have to see that bastard. It makes no difference now." Taro grabbed his halberd out of the ground and placed it against his shoulder. "Let's go, Jakotsu!"

Jakotsu grinned as he hopped up and grabbed his own trainee katana from the wall.

"Right! I found an opening in the wall where that Jiro escaped though. If we could get to that..."

"Ya mean ya found a way outta hea?" Jakotsu heard behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw an eager Daichi grinning at him "Hey, thassome great news! Hey, fellas!" Daichi shouted to the others "The kid's gotta way out! I told ya he wassa good choice!" The other men looked up and at once began to stand up and look expectantly at the two young men Daichi was motioning to. Daichi grinned back toward Taro "We voted ya our leada since ya the one responsible for the rebellin' and all."

"Daichi?" Jakotsu said "Shouldn't _you_ be with the soldiers?"

"Ya kiddin', right?" Daichi commented "And follow that Raidon? Nah way! I'd ratha be with this crowd."

"They're yours then." Taro said as he began to walk away, not really caring about the other...former...trainees "When we get out, you're free to keep them."

"Really? Ya sure? Hey, ya hea that boys! He said I was ya new leada! So alla ya follow me!" Jakotsu heard the other men sigh as he followed his Big Brother back to the burnt area where the cave was and made their way to the opening in the wall.

"I'm glad that you've decided to come, Big Brother Taro." Jakotsu said as they walked through.

"Bankotsu."

Jakotsu stopped and looked inquisitively at the young man next him.

"What was that?"

"My name." Taro stopped as well, though his eyes stayed straight ahead "It's Bankotsu now. Taro was a pathetic slave living as a dog under his masters' foot. Bankotsu, Barbaric Bone, is the name of a warrior." With that, the young warrior grinned began walking again. "Bet you can guess where I got the idea from!" he called back over his shoulder.

Jakotsu stared at his leader's back for a while, before a slow smile grew on his face. He let out an amused laugh and followed his Big Brother Taro...no Big Brother _Bankotsu_...out of their bondage and finally into freedom.

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While Jakotsu, Taro, and the other trainees made their escape on their side of the palace grounds, what was left of Takehiko's royal gaurd were tending to their own wounds.

Most of the men grumbled and swore as their own physicians looked over them, ashamed of and disgruntled by the defeat. Some of them were still holding to their duty and were guarding the very few 'noble' survivors of the attack, the majority being the late diamyo's concubines and unofficial children.

A pair of sharp, cold eyes looked over the leftover suvivors, sneering as the women still shook with fear and held their children close. The children were holding onto their mothers (and even sisters) as if they were holding onto life itself.

_Such weakness does not even deserve to live_ the owner of the cruel eyes thought _I'm sure that **my **precious Serpent was never that weak._

Raidon turned his eyes from the shivering group and smirked lustfully as he thought of his favorite student.

He remembered the thrill he would feel as he watched the strong, lovely young man fight. His dark eyes would be flashing with the same excitement and bloodlust Raidon felt as he fought a worthy opponent, the same heat and pleasure. Radion saw so much of himself in the capitvating youth, but with so much life and vivacity.

Raidon knew himself that he was an old hardass and was cruel with a hard, rigid demeanor. But this boy was a spirited, lithe young creature with a certain playful cruelty. A fierce young warrior with so much promise...

The general licked his thin lips _And so much beauty._

But the spark of lust flared into anger as he thought of 'Lady' Tamika and that damn kid, Taro. How _dare _those two think that _his _Serpent could be taken from him?

He knew Tamika's reputation and even an idiot could figure out why she had appeared at the training grounds and questioned the general about Jakotsu. It was enough that Raidon had to keep his Serpent's attention away from the other men, but he had known that unless something was done, it would be impossible to keep him away from the daimyo's daughter's bed.

And then there was the Brat: Taro. Raidon growled. That troublesome kid was always up to something, and nearly always got caught. At first, he had served of more of an entertainment than an annoyance to the general. He was amused by the vexed look on the boy's face when his hair was chopped off, it was actually almost comical how the boy cared so much.

But Taro's exasperated face no longer pleased the general as much as it had before his precious Serpent had arrived. Now the only way he wished to see the Brat's face was in pure agony and humiliation, a suitable punishment for attracting his Serpent's attention away from himself. Jakotsu had sworn that he and Taro were like brothers and nothing more, but that was a chance Raidon **did not **want to take.

Since that night, since the very moment he had watched the new student being dragged away to his tent, Jakotsu had become, at first, a pleasing distraction.

Then, that next morning, when he had displayed his amazing skill and stamina, when he had performed that shocking evasive technique, he had developed into a fascination.

And then, ever since the general had first gazed upon the flawless pale skin of the trainee's stomach and ran his rough fingers against the soft, smooth flesh, he had become an obsession.

An addiction.

A priceless treasure that Raidon **would not **give up to **anyone**!

**_That _**was why Raidon provided the Brat with that knife. **_That _**was why he allowed the revolt to begin. **_That _**was why he allowed the brat to take that huge halberd Takehiko was so keen on enchanting. If Tamika had remained alive, she would have eventually taken his Serpent as her own. If the revolt hadn't taken place, Raidon would still be a bound servant to the daimyo and not free to do as he pleased. If the Brat had not taken the damn sword, he would definitely keep rallying the other revolters to attack the palace until he got what he wanted.

But now, Tamika was dead, the daimyo's position was his for the taking, and that Brat would simply leave with his precious weapon and do as he pleased.

Raidon grinned as he held up a clenched fist.

_And Jakotsu will belong to **me**. No one shall take **my **Serpent away from the great Daimyo Raidon!_

"General Raidon!"

The general turned his eyes to see a soldier run up and bow at his feet, panting and gasping for breath. Raidon recognized him at once. He was a scout he had sent to keep an eye on the revolters and keep track of what there movements were (really, he just wanting the man to inform him on when the Brat would finally leave).

"The..._pant_...the revolters are..._pant pant_...escaping..._pant_...through" the scout didn't even get to finish his report before he was grabbed by the front of his outfit and held dangerously close to the general's glaring face.

"_What?_" Raidon softly growled, his dark eyes glittering with anger and fury "**_All _**of them?!"

The poor scout shivered under the lethal warrior's gaze. He knew that he was treading on dangerous ground, and that his next words could very well be his last.

"Y-Y-Yes, G-General, Sir. But I tried to get here as quickly as I could! Really I did, Sir! I-If we hurry, we may be able to catch _some _of them at lea..._Awk!!"_ The soldier began gasping for air as Raidon squeezed the air from his throat. His hands immediately went to the fist clenched around his neck, his fingers desperately trying to loosen the firm grip.

"G-G-General..." he wheezed out "p-p-please!"

The general seemed not to hear him, the blood in his veins was apparently rushing to quickly for him to hear anything else. He was _furious! _If **_all _**of the revolters were escaping, that not only meant the Brat, but _his Serpent _as well!

_I should've known! **Of course **my Serpent would want to leave with that **DAMN BRAT!!**_ The general hardly realized what he was doing until he heard the loud _Crack!!! _of his scout's neck breaking. He sneered at the now lifeless body as he dropped it and spat on it. He then closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath, tring to collect his anger.

_Well, no matter _he assured himself _Takehiko's army is **mine **now. His lands, his palace, his vassals, they all belong to ME!_ His eyes opened as he grinned to himself. He brought his foot back and kicked the fresh corpse as hard as he could, causing it to fly forward several feet.

_I'll make my army the strongest in the country! I'll invade every estate I can find! And then it will be easy to track them down! _The general began to cackle as he brought out a dagger and sliced in his palm in a solid vow. _I swear to you, my lovely little Serpent, you **will **be mine! And together we shall bathe in that annoying Brat's blood!_

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(NOTE): Ahh, a nice long chapter! I hope it was okay! Although (shudders) I'm beginning to scare myself at what a true creep Raidon is turning out to be. Ah well, sometimes with those kind of characters, the creepier, the better ;). 


	14. To Homes of the Past

(NOTE): Y'know, I think my writing has gotten a lot better since I started. I can't update often cuz school is merciless and I have almost NO time!! Okie dokie, let's continue while we can :)...

* * *

For once in a long time, Jakotsu didn't wake up to the annoying sound of a large _Clang! _at the very crack of dawn. 

It was instead by hard _Bonk! _on the head.

Groaning as he slowly sat up and rubbed his assualted crown, he opened an eye to look at Taro..._Bankotsu _proudly holding out his Banryuu and smirking at him.

"Come on." he said "I still need some practice with my new companion. Let's spar!"

"Now?" Jakotsu groaned, looking at the sky. It wasn't as early as his usual required wake-up-time, but he hadn't gotten much sleep at all the other night when the revolt had taken place.

After he and Bankotsu had left the daimyo's castle, they had traveled the entire day in the direction Jakotsu believed would led him to his mother. They had followed the river that had led into the daimyo's castle and had made enough progress to find a comfortable river bank at the side of a hill to stop for the night. Before they had gone to sleep, Jakotsu had washed out the scarf he had taken from the castle and left it on a boulder to dry over night.

Jakotsu really didn't have any idea where his old home was, but he knew it couldn't have been more than a couple days away. It was day two now, and he desperately hoped that they were going in the right direction.

Though right now, he was too groggy to even think about concern.

"But I'm still tired, Big Brother!" he whined.

"That doesn't matter, I just need to test Banryuu out." Bankotsu said, still smirking and motioning with the katana in his other hand for his brother to stand up "Besides, it'll build up your endurance. Believe me."

_Easy for you to say._

But sleepy young man just stilfled a sigh as he yawned, stood up, and took the smaller sword Bankotsu was holding out to him.

If Jakotsu had been tired when the sparring session had started, he was almost ready to pass out by the time it had ended. He had performed completely on an adrenaline rush as he blocked his brother's attacks.

Just blocked.

Not once could he ever find an opportunity to even attempt to be on the offense. Bankotsu was so energetic and eager to test out his sword, that it took every ounce of strenght Jakotsu had to even put up a small challenge.

They had continued fighting for a few hours before Jakotsu finally flipped out of the way and surrendered, almost completely spent. Rarely had Bankotsu even beaten him, and Jakotsu had _never _had to backflip away from him.

Jakotsu could hardly believe that this was the same servant boy Taro that he had met what seemed ages ago.

Bankotsu himself even looked worn out, so he told Jakotsu that they would rest a little more for a while before continuing.

As Jakotsu laid his head back on the fresh green grass, he closed his eyes and thought about their little spar.

His deep, navy eyes burned with something the older boy had never seen in them before.

It wasn't bloodlust.

It wasn't determination.

Hell, it wasn't even intensity.

It was fun. Plain simple fun. He could see that Bankotsu enjoyed the strength and power the sword gave him, but it wasn't because he desired to spill blood. It was because he desired to _fight. _He wanted to destroy anything that he came up against and bask in every moment of it.

It was clear that his brother couldn't have had much of a childhood, as he had been so young when he had been sent to the daimyo's castle as a servant...a slave. Jakotsu knew firsthand that the life of a slave wasn't a happy one, and when you have a creepy, strict general breathing down your neck continually, it can be an absolute hell.

There was no time for entertainment, only constant hardships.

Bankotsu's...Taro's... life previous to that of his time at the castle must've been difficult, too.

Jakotsu didn't know exactly why or how Bankotsu had ended up a slave, but he assumed that his parents must've been poor and they had sold their son in order to get some money. The life of a pauper wasn't a enjoyable one either, you had to grow up quickly and learn to make a living as soon as you are old enough to work (or beg).

But now, Bankotsu was at liberty to do whatever he wanted and was old enough to be on his own. There was no one to hold him back from having fun.

Jakotsu felt himself smile.

_I guess he finally can act like a kid now. In fact, I think we **both **can!_

Jakotsu himself couldn't remember a time when he had been so free to do as he pleased. Sure he would still follow Bankotsu as his leader, but he no longer had an obligation to fulfill. He had carried out the last lengthy mission his mother had assigned him and had gained a leader who was also a partner.

Together they could have the fun they had been denied in their childhoods; they would be warriors, and children.

He could feel himself just beginning to drift off and was more than willing to succumb to the comforts of darkness with these pleasing thoughts in mind.

His eyes reopened, however, when he heard a _Splash!_ and was sprayed with a small wave of cold water.

He propped himself on his elbows, wincing at the ache that was still in his abdomen. After he had wiped the water from his face, he saw that Bankotsu had undressed and was just now peeking his head above the river, which he had apparently leapt into.

"Ahhh, this is great." Bankotsu sighed, kneeling and smoothing his hair back with both hands. He breathed in deeply as the cool water escaped from his long hair and streamed down his back.

His hands rested clasped behind his neck as he turned to look at Jakotsu.

"Well? Come on in! You look like crap, and you really don't smell any better either!"

Jakotsu gave him a clueless look.

"Huh?" he lifted up an arm and sniffed at it "I don't think I smell _that _bad, Big Brother!"

Bankotsu crossed his arms and snorted "Take my word for it. You stink so much I wouldn't be surprised if a swarm of flies began to follow us around!"

The older boy pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That was low. Besides, are you sure you should be getting your wound wet? I thought you needed to keep it dry until it's healed?"

Bankotsu shook his head "That's only if you aren't healed by a physician who uses special instruments. Takehiko enchanted the tools of all his doctors to work quickly, so that the warriors wouldn't be slowed down by their injuries." He reached a hand up and gently ran a finger over the sewn skin on his forehead. "It doesn't, however, guard aginst infection, and I am not going to let that slow me down. And neither should you. So hurry up and wash so that we can...get...GOING!"

With a loud "HAH!," Bankotsu swept his arm forward, and created a wave that crashed into Jakotsu and made him absolutely soaked!

As Jakotsu sputtered and shook the water from his hair, he barely had time to dodge another wave heading toward him.

"Okay! Okay!" he shouted, untying the rope belt from around his waist and slipping out of his outfit "Geez, you don't have to play dirty!"

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About a half an hour later, the two young men were up and back on the road, hopefully heading in the right direction.

As Jakotsu walked beside his brother, he felt...different. It was almost as if the river had washed off more than just dirt, sweat, and dried blood from his flesh. Until then, Jakotsu hadn't ever really noticed he that had constantly felt a certain weight inside of him.

He realized that since he had first arrived at Takehiko's castle, he had always felt sort of...threatened.

Or maybe it was just wariness.

But it was feeling that had held him back from being the cheerful, eager person he had once been.

Somehow, Jakotsu knew that Bankotsu had also had that sense of a burden on him, but he wasn't sure if his brother acknowledged it or not (though if he did, he was doing an expert job of hiding it). Either way, he knew what, more like _who,_ that weight was caused by and until that person was gone for good, they would never be free of that foreboding feeling...

_Raidon._

"Huh?"

Jakotsu looked up to see his brother's questioning gaze.

"Uh...'huh' what?"

"You just said something."

_Whoops! Guess I was 'thinking' a little too loud._

Jakotsu simply grinned at him and folded his hands behind his head, turning his eyes toward the sky "Did I? Well, imagine that!"

Bankotsu snorted and muttered under his breath "I know I _didn't_ just 'imagine that,' Jakotsu."

But the younger boy stopped in his tracks as soon as something caught his eye.

Jakotsu stopped beside him and gave him an inquisitive look "What's the matter, Big Brother? Did you see something?"

"Yeah." Bankotsu said, staring straight ahead of him "And if it's what I think it is, you have a better sense of direction than I thought, Jakotsu."

"Hmm?" Jakotsu turned his head to where his leader was staring, pulling a hand from the back of head and placing it over his brows to block out the sun.

His eyes widened in surprise.

There, only a while away, was his old home; he could just see the gates of the large compound peeking out against the horizon.

At that moment, Jakotsu didn't know whether to be relieved or exicited. In only a few moments, his mother would meet the one he had chosen to be his leader.

_What is she going to think?_

"Well, come on!" Bankotsu said, walking forward again "We're not gonna get there by just standing here."

Jakotsu brought both of his arms to his sides and nodded. He smiled when he decided to be optimistic rather than pessimistic and he gave in to excitement as he followed his brother.

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"Milady!"

Shizuka looked up as she heard the raspy voice of the old servant call her. She was in her room sitting indian style on an old blanket. In front of her was Jakotsutou, to the side of her was a cup of grease, and in her hand was a filthy rag.

Despite how many times the servants would offer to clean the great sword, she would _never _allow them to handle it. It was usually her son's job to polish anyway, but as he was currently on a 'mission,' she did it herself, at least until he would return.

It had been years since she had seen her boy and she suspected that it would be years still since she would see him again.

Shizuka was well aware that Takehiko was a dark magician. Not a top notch one, but a magician nonetheless, and they were difficult for even her to kill, especially without the aid of her prized weapon.

It would be impossible for Jakotsu to defeat the daimyo on his own, and whether she liked it or not, he would need others to help him defeat them. When she had first sent her son off, she had expected him to learn all he could, gather a band of faithful followers, and destroy Takehiko and all his men, which would, hopefully, earn him the respect of the others in the daimyo's army.

Yet she doubted that that was how it would be.

Jakotsu was too...childish, for lack of a better word. His presence hardly demanded respect and he was more playful in his fighting tactics and his taunts, something that wasn't going to impress very many warriors. If he weren't an excellent fighter and have a love of slaughter, she knew that he would be seen as a so-called 'pansy.'

Or a 'queer.'

It wasn't hard to guess his sexual preference, but she wasn't at all upset about that.

It meant he would never fall victim to some slut's charms and leave a young woman, still burning with passion for him, squeezing out his offspring in some old, abandoned shack.

Boy, did _that _sound familiar.

Jakotsu had always been a follower more than a leader anyway, but she knew that whoever he chose to follow would need her approval. She would inspect him when her son returned.

And she was sure he would return; he still had to come back for Jakotsutou.

"Milady!" The old servant rushed into her room, his hands gripping his chest as he spoke in labored breaths "Your...son..."

"What?" The old man definitely had Shizuka's attention now.

The servant swallowed before he continued, "Your son, Milady. My own boy..._pant_..has seen him. He..._pant..._he is approaching the castle..._pant..._with another boy."

"**Boy**?" she asked sharply, picking up the sword as she stood up "A mere _boy_? Not a _man_?"

The servant shook his head and Shizuka's eyes narrowed. She quickly brushed past the panting old man and made her way to the gate entrance. She could just see the two figures that were steadily approaching the castle, one pale and tall, the other dark and short.

She knew the tall one was Jakotsu, which must mean that the shorter one was a companion he acquired.

The woman felt her hand clench tightly around the sword's hilt as she raised an eyebrow.

_That _was _it?!_

A _kid?!_

Shizuka squinted her slanted eyes to get a better look. Due to her demon blood, however weak it might be, she could see better than a regular human, so she could just make out the other boy's features. She studied him for a moment as the couple got closer and as she saw more and more of him, her eyes slowly began to widen.

Long black hair.

Dark blue eyes.

Strongly tanned skin.

Shizuka couldn't help but recognize the boy's dark features. How could she ever forget them? She could clearly remember the first time she had seen them, that very instant when she was immediatly seized with a burning, flaming, searing flare of absolute, undeniable...**_loathing._**

The exotic beauty and proud composure kindled the familiar flame in her very soul.

A fire that demanded to be appeased.

She was so distracted by what she saw, she didn't notice when her son began to wave at her and didn't even feel that her hand was clenching Jakotsutou so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

_He...he looks like...that...that **BITCH**!_

It was clear that he must have origin in the same place as the woman Shizuka hated with her entire soul. That slut had been an exotic beauty herself, a lovely foreign girl from the west.

It took every once of strength she had not to lunge at the boy and choke him with her bare hands as he and Jakotsu just reached the entrance to the gate. She tried to rationalize that perhaps it was a good thing that this boy looked so much like her old rival.

Clearly, Jakotsu had become a leader after all, and this boy _must _be a follower of his. It was _her _son that had this boy under _his _control, and it could be seen as some sort of victory.

Yes, yes, of course it could! A young man that reminded her of that treacherous wench was in a station below her son, below herself! And as the mother of his leader, she could be as cruel as she wanted, and somehow convice her boy to be just as merciless!

She did her best not to smirk as Jakotsu and his companion reached her and turned her eyes to meet her son.

"You have completed your mission?" she said without much emotion. She couldn't help but be inwardly amused when she saw her son nod eagerly at her.

"Yes I have, Mother. The daimyo Takehiko is nothing more than a head lying a few feet away from a bloody body."

Shizuka couldn't hold the smirk back any longer when she heard that and felt a great amount of pride swell inside of her.

_And it serves you right, my dearest Uncle._

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That was one of the true reasons she had sent her son to kill that daimyo. Her mother, Midori, had been the younger half sister of Lord Takehiko, a princess who had been careless enough to fall in love with a certain mercenary, tainted with demonic blood, that her brother had hired.

Over only a few months, Midori and the facinating warrior became very close, though they strived to keep their growing relationship secret from the daimyo. However, that had proved impossible when it became obvious that Midori was with child.

As soon as Takehiko had gotten wind of his sister's 'cursed' pregnancy, he had somehow found out who the father was and immediately had the mercenary killed and Midori held in strict confinement.

Five years after Shizuka's birth, Midori got wind that Takehiko had plans to use her daughter. He had, apparantly, kept the strange sword the child's faher had once carried, and he had found he was unable to made it work. Surely, though, the impure offspring of the sword's former master could weild it and he was set on using Shizuka as one of his enslaved warriors.

Had her mother not stolen Jakotsutou from her brother's hold, escaped with Shizuka from his castle, and been taken in by and married to a blacksmith on the outskirts of a certain village, who knows what would have become of her and her child?

For years those thoughts had burdened Shizuka. Partly for what Takehiko had done to her parents, but also that since he had killed her father, she could never figure out the actual potential of Jakotsutou.

She had taught herself how to use it well enough after her stepfather (who had cared for her like a real daughter) had taught her the basics of fighting, and she had learned it's name from her mother. But with the stories Midori had told her about the techniques her real father would use with the sword, she knew that the weapon's true power was only something that could be either be figured out over hundreds of years or taught by one who already knew.

Shizuka had been denied that priveledge since she couldn't live for hundreds of years and her uncle had taken away the only one who could teach her anything.

She had sworn that one day, Takehiko would die by 'the hand of the flesh of her father,' and Jakotsu was just that.

Not only would her son become stronger by destroying Takehiko, but he would fulfill her vow as well.

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"Well done, Jakotsu." she said to her son "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."

She then turned her gaze to Jakotsu's companion, looking over him as if she had just noticed his presence "Though, I must say, I am not too pleased that you have returned with such a...small amount." Shizuka bit back a snicker as she watched the younger boy's eyes slightly darken, though the smug grin remained on his face.

He had clearly picked up on her intended insult, unlike her son who hadn't seemed to notice.

"Oh believe me, Mother, Bankotsu is stronger than two dozen soldiers! I mean, look at the halberd he's carrying!" Though Shizuka hated to admit, she _was _fairly impressed with the giant weapon the small boy was able to hold against his shoulder with one hand. His clothes were also something to take note of, as his whole attire was almost regal.

His weapon, his clothing, and also his handsome looks made the short boy seem almost like a young warrior prince.

_That is not suited for a **subordinate!**_

Her observation was explained when she heard what her son said next,"Plus, he's sure to be a great leader and big bro..."

"**_What?_**"

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Jakotsu, who had been looking at his brother as he introduced him, looked back at his mother as he heard the soft, cold hiss.

"Jakotsu, **my son,**" the young man almost squirmed under his mother's sharp, threatening gaze as she spoke to him in a deadly, slow tone "I want you to first repeat what you just said...and then finish that sentence."

Worry struck him like lightening as he felt a dark, freezing aura spilling from the woman before him.

_Uh oh._

"He said" Jakotsu felt his heart almost stop as he heard Bankotsu haughty voice speak out from beside him "that I am his leader. A _great leader._"

_Big Brother, are you **trying **to get us killed?!_

Apparently he was, since Bankotsu didn't stop there "And I think what he was going to say was 'He'll make a great leader and **_big brother.'"_**He was still looking directly at the glaring face of Shizuka, who had turned her bitter gaze back to him. They glowered at each other for a moment, Jakotsu looking nervously back and forth between his mother and his big brother, until Shizuka's chilly stare suddenly caught fire.

Her brown, snake-like eyes were kindled with absolute fury and and her sharp teeth were slightly bared as she began to pant quiet, angry breathes. The hand around Jakotsutou was completely white now, and the fingers that held it were shaking and twitching with a deep urgencey.

"**_Big...Brother?_**"

In that moment, Bankotsu seemed to realize just how dangerous she was, as he no longer saw a stern, rude woman standing in front of him, but a blood-thirsty demon that was egar to spill somebody's bloody, namely his. Try as he might, Bankotsu couldn't help but feel a little scared of her, but he forced himself to remain calm as he just stared back at the infuriated female.

_I'm stronger than her _he thought arrongantly.

Jakotsu, however, didn't share in Bankotsu's views, as he could tell that unless he did something quickly, his mother would slice up his new Big Brother into tiny, bloody shreds.

* * *

(NOTE): This chapter may seem boring and I know I was mean and ended on a little cliffie, but at least you have a little info about Shizuka's past! And, pretty interesting about Bankotsu, huh? So...he apparently is from the same country as Shizuka's rival! ( Btw, the place 'in the west' I was talking about is India. I don't know what it was called then so just bear with me :P And as for a little teaser, later on there will be a couple more people from the same country too!) 

Tell me what you thought!

P.S.: Yes, technically this means Jakie and Tamika were cousins (really like first cousins once removed or something). It doesn't really bother me since I live in a state where cousins can marry (not that I ever would), but if it bothers you, just add that to the list on 'Why Tamika is so disturbing' ;).

BTW: Everyone already knows what Jakie's mom and grandmother are named, but his dad and grandpa (and step-grandpa, the blacksmith)? I'm actually taking suggestions!


	15. A Shaky Start

(NOTE): Okay, everyone agrees with me school comes first right? Well, take that into account on why I don't update as I'd like...:P.

* * *

The next thing Jakotsu felt was a sharp sting on his right cheek. 

He was also no longer looking at his mother but at a surprised Bankotsu who was looking straight back at him with his mouth half open. It took a moment for him to realize that his mother had just smacked him, hard enough to actually turn his head and fast enough for him to never notice her hand coming toward his face.

As Jakotsu winced and brought up a hand to massage his smarting cheek, he looked back at his mother, his eyes wide in shock.

Shizuka appeared as if she hadn't moved a muscle. She was still giving Bankotsu a seething glare, tightly clutching Jakotsutou and slowly breathing in and out through her teeth. The only difference was her left hand, which was now flexing her sharp claw-like nails that were slightly dripping with blood.

That would explain why his cheek felt wet beneath his palm. She hadn't just struck him, she had scratched him.

"**_How dare you?_**" she hissed, finally turning her gaze toward her astonished son "**_I specifically told you to find a _worthy _leader. And you choose this pathetic CHILD!?_**"

Turning her fired gaze back to Bankotsu, the demon woman brought the hand wielding Jakotsutou up, ready to strike the other boy, but Jakotsu was ready this time. He quickly grabbed his mother's wrist before she could bring it down and swung his other arm around her waist, clutching her form to his.

He struggled to hold her still as she snarled at the startled boy over her son's shoulder and tried to wrench her body out of Jakotsu's grasp.

Bankotsu could only stare in shock as watched the scene before him.

It was a demon his brother was holding back; this terrible, mesmerizing creature with flashing brown eyes and sharp bared teeth was just aching to tear him to shreds! He heard Jakotsu give growls of his own as he held onto the monster, most of his snarls laced with pain from the lacerations she was currently clawing into his clothed back in an effort to weaken his hold.

After taking a moment to recover, Bankotsu set his face in a determined look and glared into the demon's eyes.

"If you think I'm so worthless, then how about you and I have a battle." he challenged. Turning around, Bankotsu walked back a few feet away and turned back around with a slight smirk "Lets just see how _pathetic _I am."

"Not helping!" Jakotsu shouted as he felt his mother become more aggravated from the challenge.

Truth be told, he was reluctant to let his leader fight his mother, he knew it would only lead to death. Had this been another other person, he'd gladly let Bankotsu have a chance to attack, but his mother...the first person he had ever shared a bond with...

Besides there was a good chance Bankotsu would lose. Shizuka was more experienced, not to mention possibly more powerful, and even after almost a lifetime of training with her, Jakotsu himself had never won a battle against his mother.

But as Jakotsu heard Bankotsu tell him to let Shizuka go and he felt his mother thrash out even more violently, he knew that they were both adamant in their desire to fight each other, and he could get killed if he tried to hold them back any longer.

So, with one last growl, he released the hold on his mother.

Bankotsu brought up his sword as soon as the monster shoved her son to the side and lunged at him with her sword poised ready to strike.

But what came next was something Bankotsu was almost completely unprepared for.

If Jakotsu had not quickly yelled "SHIELD!," the young warrior might not have been able to bring up his sword in time and block the numerous blades that had suddenly come shooting directly at him!

Bankotsu cursed under his breath as he realized that this must be the beloved Jakotsutou his brother had once told him about and he should have known from what Jakotsu had told him that this was more than likely what he would be fighting against.

Luckily, Jakotsu had also taught him a few moves of how to defend himself against this weapon, and right now, they were certainly coming in handy.

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After at least a half an hour of fighting, so far all Bankotsu could do was block each attack while trying to come up with a strategy of how to beat his crazed opponent.

It seemed impossible.

If he let his guard down for more than a second he knew he would be done for, but he knew he couldn't keep going on like this. He didn't even feel thrilled that he was fighting such a strong opponent, mostly because she wasn't using any technique other than constantly throwing the blades at him, but partly because he didn't know if he should kill her or not.

Yes, to Bankotsu she was just another opponent that could be a new notch on his sword, but to his brother she was a mother and his first leader.

It was unsual that Bankotsu should care about such a thing, he had never cared about somwthing like this before. But then again, he had never had a companion before, and he supposed that it was because Jakotsu was his comrad that he woud even think of sparing even this crazy bitch's life.

_Of course_, he thought disgruntled as he blocked another and another attack _**my **life might be the one that needs to be spared at the rate this is going.

* * *

_All Jakotsu could do was stand watch his mother and his brother tear through the compound. He nervously chewed on the tip of his thumb as he tried to think of a way to stop this, he didn't want to see his brother or his mother hurt.

And he didn't want himself to be killed either.

His eyes widened as he heard a grunt and saw his brother fall to to the ground! He realized that his mother had noticed the bandage on Bankotsu's forehead, and deeming this as a weak spot, had skillfuly brought a foot up in between Jakotsutou'd flying blades and the wide blade of Banryu, and kicked Bankotsu square in the forehead, exactly where his injury was.

Jakotsu knew from his own bound wound on his stomach that although the injury was healing quickly, it was still pretty sore, and such a hard kick could cause a blinding pain, especially when the wound is one the forehead.

The tall boy sucked in a breath as he saw his mother put on a look of bloodlusting victory and raised her sword above her head one last time, ready to deliver the final strike!

Then, not even thinking of the consequences, Jakotsu, more quickly than he ever had before, rushed out to his mother and was just able to grab Shizuka's wrist before she finished bringing it down! Shizuka turned her head to give him a furious glare, but Jakotsu just returned it with a glower of his own.

"Stop it!" he snarled "You can't use Jakotsutou to kill him, it belongs to me! You promised that it did! You said that if I completed the mission, I could have Jakotsutou! Well, I have, and I want it NOW!"

" _**Ssstand down**_." Shizuka, literally, hissed. Her eyes were practically blazing with a bright red tint and her fangs were dripping with saliva that could have passed for venom. The way she was crouching over the recovering Bankotsu, anyone could swear that she look like a beast ready to devour it's prey.

Despite her terrifying appearance, Jakotsu refused to let up. But he knew that if he got into a fight with her now, he himself could very well end up dead; he had to find a way to calm her down.

His mother had apparently given over entirely to her demonic stage, something Jakotsu knew he could not handle. From what he knew about demons, at least the females, there were only naturally subdued by two things. One was the threating power of a male demon.

Because Jakotsu, for some reason, had no way of giving into what little demonic blood he might have, he knew he could not make her see him as a fellow demon, so he had no choice but to revert to being the second option.

He would have to remind her of what he was: her dependant offspring.

Trying not to feel absolutely ridiculous, Jakotsu once again wrapped an arm around his mother's waist, gently and from behind this time, and buried his face tenderly into the back of her neck, rubbing his nose against her sweaty skin.

After he felt her begin to calm down a little, he slowly removed his hand from her still poised, but now relaxed, wrist and brought it around her waist on the other side, effectively now holding her in a comforting embrace.

Silently begging Bankotsu not to start snickering at his mushy actions, the desperate son laid his head on his mother's shoulder, letting out a sound that sounded like a cross between a childish whimper and a groan, one that could almost say "Mommy, I'm sleepy, please tuck me into bed."

That simple sound and the feeling of her child embrancing her caused Shizuka to close her eyes tenderly and place and almost caring hand on her son's arm encircling her midriff.

Unlike what Jakotsu thought his brother might be thinking, Bankotsu watched the scene with facination. Finally recovering from the fall and currently sitting up on his arms, he looked up at the monster who was gradually bringing her raised arm weilding the power sword down. It was truly amazing to see this vicious beast melt into the role of a caring mother by the simple, sweet actions of her offspring.

What was more interesting was seeing two killers like Jakotsu and this woman share a tender, loving moment like this, even if it was just for the purpose of calming the woman down.

At that thought, Bankotsu did snicker; it was pretty ridiculous after all.

Unfortunately, Jakotsu's mother heard him, and opened her eyes at him in glare. Bankotsu, always the one to push his luck, merely just smirked back at her.

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To Jakotsu's relief, Shizuka finally became calm enough to put killing out of her mind and play the part of the displeased mother in a less violent way. She invited Bankotsu in with a sneer, and told Jakotsu that he would be allowed to stay until they decided what to do next.

"As for Jakotsutou," she said as she walked toward the house, ignoring the surrounding rubble she had caused from her fight with Bankotsu "I'll let you have it as soon as I am done with this last mission I need to complete."

Jakotsu looked quizzically at his mother as he helped his leader off the ground "What mission, Mother?"

"I'll tell you that at dinner tonight." she said as she reached the doorway "Go show our little guest to a room, then wash up and come to eat in a few hours. And...bring the boy with you as well."

She disappeared into thehouse after that, leaving a confused son and his annoyed leader.

_Damn, bitch. 'The Brat' was a hell of a lot better than 'The Boy.'_

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"Quite a mother you have there, Jakotsu." Bankotsu coldly commented as Jakotsu led him to an extra room "Really something."

Jakotsu shrugged as he called around for one of the servants, the old man Yamato.

"I guess I should have expected this." he admitted "She's always been pretty strict about things like this."

"No, kidding."

"Master Jakotsu?"

The two boys turned to see a smiling old man carrying some blankets, a towel, and a bowl of steaming water "Your mother informed me that we were having a guest stay for a awhile." Yamato walked toward the sleeping mat and placed the blankets and water down. "I was instructed to bring you...these..." The old man stopped as he looked at Bankotsu, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Hmm?" Looking back and forth from the old man to his brother, Jakotsu wondered what had made the man so shocked.

Bankotsu didn't seem to know either as he stared blankly back at the dumfounded Yamato.

"M-M-Master...Taro?"

Silence.

That is what followed Old Yamato's question. Neither boy knew what to think. How on earth could this guy know Bankotsu's birth name? Had they met before? Well, they must have. But when and where? And how? And why?!

"Uhh..." Jakotsu finally said, looking toward the still astonished old servant "How did you know that...?"

"Bankotsu." his brother interrupted "My name is Bankotsu. You must have me confused with someone else."

The dark boy's stoic answer made the old man shake his head and laugh at his own silly behavior.

"I'm sorry, Young Sir." he said, turning back to straighten out the blankets "You just remind me so much of the former master's son. But that's impossible, you're much too young, that boy would be nearly thirty by now." Yamato sighed as he straightened to his feet and bowed before the boys "I have prepared your bed for you, Master Bankotsu, and have brought you some water to clean yourself with. should you require anything else, please let Old Yamato know. And as for you, Master Jakotsu, I shall prepare your own bed and bring you some water in just a moment. They will be waiting for you in your room."

With that, the older servant left, sliding the door behind him.

For a long time, Jakotsu just looked at his brother, who seemed to be deep in thought, as if he was looking for a memory. And from the looks of it, it wasn't a very pleasant one.

"So, Big Brother, what was...?"

"You should go clean up, Jakotsu. You still have dried blood on your face from that scratch." Bankotsu cut in, wlaking toward the bowl of water and taking a seat next to it "I need some time to rest after that fight. I'll see you in a few hours at dinner."

"But, Big Brother..."

"Okay??" the younger forced out, throwing Jakotsu a 'just drop it' look.

Jakotsu merely sighed and headed out of the room, sliding the door shut as he left. He knew something was up, but by the look on his leader's face, he wasn't sure if he was better off just not knowing.

It's like they say, after all, curiosity killed the cat.

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After Jakotsu had cleaned up in his own room, he decided to follow his brother's example and rest under the servants called him for dinner. It had been a tiring day, and not really in the good way either. He figured that he might as well rest up now in case his mother and Bankotsu decided to attack each other again and he had to humiliate himself again.

He slept until Yamato's daughter-in-law, Hana, timidly knocked on Jakotsu's door to announce the meal was served before scurrying away from his room as quickly as she could. Snickering at the girl's actions, Jakotsu picked himself up and and reched around his pockets for the gifts he had gotten his mother. His fingers ran over the two shells that contained the chosen colors and he patted his pocket as he felt they were both there.

He also untied the sash from around his waist and straightened it out as he made his way toward the dining room(1). He knew one of the servants would've led Bankotsu there, so there was no need to retrieve him. Sure enough, when Jakotsu reached his destination, there were his mother and his leader, sitting across form one another and silently glaring at each other.

Sighing, Jakotsu made his way toward Bankotsu's side, but stopped as he heard his mother's voice.

"By me, Jakotsu." she said, still glaring at Bankotsu "I want you to sit by me."

_Oh great _Jakotsu thought _now I'm being treated as a trophy. _

To the tall boy's dismay, Bankotsu spoke before he could move a muscle.

"Madam," Bankost said, calmly and politely "was not it your intention to speak with the both of us? So would it not be better for Jakotsu to be sitting across from you?"

Jakotsu held his breath as he waited for his mother's response. He knew Bankotsu was challenging her, and he was sure his mother would pick up on it. But it was a great relief when Shizuka simply smirked and nodded at the younger boy.

"Of course, my dear boy," she said, her voice sickenly sweet "That would make much more sense, now wouldn't it?"

Jakotsu sank into his seat after that, hoping that the rest of the converstion would not include Bankotsu trying to sound like he was talking to a tyrant queen, and Shizuka speaking like she was encouraging a toddler.

* * *

(NOTE): Well, that's it for now! Hmmm...I wonder what Shizuka would want to talk about? Find out in the next chapter! 

BTW: If there are mistakes or bad grammer, I'll probably go back and change it when I reread and catch it ;)!

(1) I really have no idea what these rooms are tehnically called, so please bear with me!.


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